Back to My Roots
by SwindleHeart
Summary: She has the potential to determine her very fate; To protect - or destroy - all she has ever known. But with the Thieves Guild at Aela's side, and the power to control Skyrim at her fingertips, will the young Dragonborn turned Vampire be capable - and willing - to protect her own homeland and follow the path laid down for her? Or, will Akatosh's blessing become an inevitable curse?
1. Prologue: Falkreath's Forests

**-Very little to no relationship with the Main Storyline and Thieves Guild questline.-**

**Eventual references to the Dawnguard and Dragonborn DLCs (No spoilers). Vampirism also functions differently from the original game, and the ages of some characters have been ****_minorly _****tweaked. **

**This story takes a bit to develop, meaning you won't see Brynjolf, romance as well as any ****_serious _****action until later in the story. So if you want to skip on to the good stuff, then head on to chapters 3 and onwards (however, you will miss out on some important details).**

**_~ Artwork done by Vicki73 at DeviantArt ~_**

* * *

_Wake up, sweet, sweet Dragonborn..._

_…Your time has come._

_…Time to watch the life you've worked so hard for…_

_…Crumble before your eyes._

* * *

My parents - mother a Nord, and father an Imperial, were hunters, both born and raised within the city walls of Windhelm. Forbidden lovers since birth by their parents, they ran away at a young age from the oppression they faced to start their new lives in the small, secluded town of Ivarstead.

They made their living by hunting and selling their spoils to the local inn, until the innkeeper, had to refuse the excess of raw meat they were hauling in. So, together, they packed whatever belongings they had, and headed to Riften, a city controlled by the Imperials but infamously run by the Thieves Guild.

They named me Aela, after the huntress they had met whilst hunting, who had saved both their lives during one of their hunts.

They would always speak highly of her, and they hoped that one day I would meet someone as kind and selfless as her. She was their saviour, their protecter – they had wished for me to follow in her footsteps, but their dreams were short-lived. I became a thief – I never chose to become one, I simply had no other option.

* * *

When I was 10, my parents took me on a trip. We were in the dense forests of Falkreath. I hated it - The people and the surroundings in Riften is what I was used to; This, this was completely different. Nothing but trees, coyotes howling in the backgrounds, the shadows of eagles hovering above; I despised it.

I could make out a campsite that was hidden within the trees.

"They're just campers Aela, no need to worry" my mother kept reassuring me, but I knew there was more to the eerie scene than what my parents thought. I kept my lips shut, I knew they wouldn't listen.

That's when the bandits came charging. We were outnumbered 3 to 5, if you count the child tremering in her mother's arms.

My father took the protective stance over my mother and I, whilst she craddeled me in her arms, like she had when she first laid her eyes on me.

With one quick swift of an iron greatsword, and with such great precision by the bandit leader, an Orc, my father's back was sliced right down the middle, creating a gashing wound right across his spine.

It would be the last memory I would have of him; My father, protecting all he had loved and cherished his entire life.

My mother screamed and cried in utter fear as she watched my father's lifeless body hit the cold, hard ground. His soul off was now off to Sovengard, as he deserted the only two people he would have sacrificed his life for.

My mother was next, I knew it – we both did. And I knew I would be their last target. Save the best for last, I suppose? To let the weak, defenseless child watch as her parents were butchered before her own eyes.

It wasn't the Orc who came charging at my mother, it was a Nord, with one sharp motion of her bow, she picked an ebony arrow from her quiver, and put in position of her bow, also ebony, and aimed the arrow straight at the back of my mother's head.

And in a split-second – but what seemed like an hour – she released the arrow from her bow, and it came jolting to my mother.

My mother eyes locked onto mine, sadness and sorrow enveloping her. And just like that, any life in her eyes had vanished, as her body too, fell lifelessly onto the ground, next to my father's.

As my mind began to spin out of control, I heard the voices of the bandits, the bastards who slayed my parents ruthlessly right before my own eyes, were contemplating what to do with me.

"She's just a child, we can't kill her! All of Falkreath will come after us if they know we butchered a kid, you all know that!" Shouted one of the bandits.

It was a woman, but not the one who murdered my mother. No. she seemed different. Her voice sounded soothing, even with all the chaos ensuing around me.

"Then what do you plan to do with her? What could she possibly offer to our clan?" proclaimed their leader, the Orc.

I stared blankly at him, were they actually considering to let me go?

"What the hell are you staring at?!" he yelled.

It took me a few seconds to realize he was talking directly to me. I was too busy trying to keep eye contact with him, trying to hold back my tears, I blocked out the voices and sounds fuming all around me.

"Well!? You have something you'd like to say girl?" He was screaming now.

I slowly shook my head from side-to-side.

"I'll take care of her, Rorik." The woman said.

She grabbed my arm with her long, cold fingers and instructed me to walk in front of her. She took me deep into the forest, away from the bandits. Will she let me free? I doubt it.

"A-are…are you going to… k- kill me…?" I asked as we continued walking. I could barely speak, choking on my own words and tears.

"No, I'm going to save your pathetic ass," She answered.

"What are you going to do…?"

"I'm going to make you a changed girl, a changed woman. You'll understand once that brain of yours can grasp what's going to happen now."

If I wasn't scared a few minutes ago, I was absolutely terrified now.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"You'll see, now be quiet and keep walking."

We walked in silence for what felt like hours. Why was she taking me so far out? Maybe she will let me go after all…

"Stop," She finally said, "This is a good spot. Hopefully they will hear the screams, but not be close enough to see…" She was talking to herself, trailing off into her thoughts.

"S-Screams? Please don't hurt – "

"Shut up! Now this will only hurt a bit, but I need you to make it sound like I'm eating away at your frail little body." She said quite hastily like she was in a rush. She looked at me from up to down, like I was some sort of delicacy.

"Oh how I would love just a peck at your skin.. the blood of the young tastes so… pure."

"What are you talking about? Please don't hurt me! Please!"

"Just do as I say! Gods help me this girl will be the death of me!" She was staring up at the sky, as if expecting a reply.

"Okay… okay, just please.. tell me what I need to do…"

I had no other choice. Talking this woman into letting me go definitely wasn't an option. I was just a child, what was I supposed to do? I could barely spell my own name let alone persuade an outlaw to set me free.

"I need to bite your neck. I'm going to inject this… venom into your blood stream, and you'll become like me. I could simply cast a spell on you to have you contract the disease, but that means you'll be stuck in the body of a naïve little 10 year old girl, and I'm guessing you wouldn't want that, correct?" She asked, as if expecting an answer.

"And I would love a taste of your blood…it's been so long since I've feasted on a child…" She continued.

_Did she say 'feast'?_ This woman is indeed, crazy.

"No..?" I answered, might as well agree if I want to live.

"Good, now if you'll just tilt your head over a bit…"

And just like that, her cold hands reached around my neck, and before her teeth sunk into my skin, she whispered "Scream, act like you're in pain."

There was no need to act, it was the most excruciating pain I had ever felt in my life, like someone was tearing my body apart, sucking away at my blood, my energy.

I began to scream and yell furiously, begging her to stop, but of course, she didn't listen.

The last thing I remembered was seeing her eyes lock on to mine, telling me that I'm now the same monster as her. Monster? Before I could react, or even ask her what she meant, I had fallen to the ground, unconscious, just like my parents' lifeless bodies.

* * *

**- Feb. 2013: My spelling and grammar were pretty crappy when I began writing this, and I tried tweaking the first two chapters. If you pick up on any spelling/grammatical errors in later ones, then bare with me, I'll try to clean up them up whenever I can. -**


	2. In and Out, And Back in Again

I had awoken in a bed, with a candle shimmering next to me. It looked like a bedroom, I couldn't tell, my body was so stiff, and something was wrapped around my neck – some sort of cloth.

"Is anybody here?" I whispered.

As soon as the words slipped from my mouth, I regretted it. What if I was in a bandit camp, or some place filled with the same monsters that killed my parents… My parents…Oh nine divines… where the hell am I? I thought.

What am I going to do? I'm only a child, I barely know how to take care of myself, how did I even end up here?

Before I could break down crying, remembering the distorted images of the last memory I had, a man walked in, cleaning a tankard with a cloth.

"Oh, you're awake! You've been out for quiet some time, about 3 days since some strange fellow dropped you off.." the strange man said. "Which is about 30 gold pieces... –"

"Shut up, Ivan! Does she look like she can afford a room at your over-priced inn let alone the clothes on her back?" It sounded like a woman, rather old; I could tell by the way she spoke, the tremble in her voice.

The man was scrawny, an obvious nord, wearing the typical clothing of any Skyrim resident. He seemed young, only about 20 or so.

The woman then came in to the entrance of the room. I was right, she seemed quite old, actually _really_ old, in her 80s or so, also a nord, sporting a long white dress with sleeves and green trimmings.

_How is this woman still practically alive?_ I couldn't stop staring. I've never seen anyone so old.

The woman giggled; "Never seen an elder before, aye?"

"I'm sorry… I'm just so confused. I can't move my body, and I have no idea where I am…"

"Well, a man in armour, a mercenary maybe? brought you in. Said he found you in the middle of the forest. He'd never seen you in Falkreath before, and you looked like you were in danger," He paused, "You came in with that cloth wrapped around your neck."

I was stunned. Did that bandit woman wrap my neck? Or was it the stranger who saved me?

"Speaking of which, don't you have any parents to protect or watch over you? You seem quite young, could've easily been killed by a pack of wolves or outlaws."

My throat choked up. "No… we were hunting in the forests of Falkreath, when these bandits came…" I began to tear up.

"Oh no…now look what you've done Ivan! Go fetch the poor girl something to drink, it's alright, dear…" The old woman sat next to me and began to comfort me with soothing words.

"Yes, mother," Ivan replied as he went out of my sights.

"I'm sorry to hear about your parents, but I need to know as much about you as possible to see what we can do. What's your name? Where do you live?" The old woman asked.

"My name's Aela Bierhelm, I'm 10 years old and I live in Riften."

"Riften?" She asked, taken aback, "What were your parents thinking, bringing you this far away from home? Falkreath and Riften are on opposite sides of Skyrim!"

"My dad would never stop talking about how the forests in Falkreath are nothing like anywhere in Skyrim, and even all of Tamriel... My parents decided to bring me on a trip here, we traveled for days to get here, only for it to all completely fall apart…" I trailed off.

The old woman understood. She had a soothing tone in her voice, just like the strange lady who took me into the forest, before she bit my neck.

Ivan then re-entered the room with what looked like a pie on a plate and a cup filled with some sort of liquid.

"Here, I brought you something to eat, and I mixed up a potion earlier to help with the stiffness in your body, I've added it to the water, so it'll take the bitterness away, and be easier to drink".

I took the cup and plate, "Thank you, Ivan," I smiled, "And thanks for allowing me to stay here for so long. And to you…" I trailed off again, realizing I hadn't even learned the woman's name.

"Oh my, I forgot to introduce myself!" She laughed, "my name is Hilda Grey-Mane. I'm sure you'll hear about my family clan as you get older," she grinned.

* * *

Since the incident with my parents, Hilda and her son had taken me under their wing. They had no hunting or combat skills to teach me, but they taught me tips and tricks in several other miscellaneous categories; cooking, cleaning, bargaining and bartering.

I knew that eventually I would have to move out, I can only be a burden for so long. But in exchange for their shelter, food and love, I had brought in a decent amount of gold on my part.

I hate to say it, but the gold definitely didn't come from bartering goods or selling any spoils I could hunt. I began to pickpocket when I was 13. Began learning how to sneak around and evading the guards at 15 after they had caught me several times.

If it wasn't for Hilda, I would've ended up in the Falkreath jail. Every time I was caught, she'd persuade or bribe the guards to look the other way.

I knew it couldn't go on forever, so I had to learn the routes of the guards, who the easy targets were and who to avoid. I did have morals though; I would never steal from the poor and needy. Only from those who had more than they needed, the snobby, rich residents of Falkreath.

Eventually I had weeded out last gold pieces and garnets out of practically every wealthy home in the town. I couldn't raid the same house more than twice though - the risk was too high.

I couldn't start robbing from the poor, considering I was at that very level myself, it didn't feel right. So I broadened my horizons. Meaning that I had to break away from Hilda eventually.

I was now 18, an adult, I had to make my mark in the world. I said my goodbyes to her, the woman who I had once called my mother.

I truly did love her, she welcomed me with open arms the day I entered in her small inn, and she had to eventually had to let me go, but I promised I would visit her often.

This was more of a promise to myself. I couldn't be ignorant, if it wasn't for Hilda, I would've been dead many, many years ago.

And just like that, I headed to Whiterun, and camped outside of the city, sometimes rent a room in the inn, and make whatever coin I could from the rich in Whiterun.

In only my third day in Whiterun, whilst I was waiting in the bushes to pounce at the right moment, a woman had caught me red-handed, or so I had thought.

Dangling down from a tree right above me, the strange woman said, "So you make a living off of picking pockets, eh? You little thief."

"Oh no, I'm simply trying to make a living, I only steal what I truly need. And I can only make so much from selling fresh produce." I lied.

"So, stealing, but with good intentions?" She smirked.

"I guess you could say that. But I still have my morals," I replied with a smile.

"And what would these morals of yours be?"

"I only steal from the rich and greedy," I replied.

"Hmm.. interesting. Well your pose is all wrong. My grandmother could spot you from a mile away trying to pickpocket. And she's blind."

"Well, I haven't had any training. I was raised by lawful people."

"So then why are you a dirty little thief?"

"My parents were killed by bandits when I was a child, I was raised by a woman and her son who found me, I eventually had to learn my ways around making gold, and so I began to pickpocket. Not the most legal way of making gold, but what other choice do I have when it comes to making money?"

"Oh... well I'm sorry to hear that, you were quite lucky, eh?"

"I suppose." I was feeling tearful, I didn't want to seem weak in front of her.

"Well I'd be happy to teach you a thing or two, if you're willing," She smirked.

"And I'm guessing you're not doing this simply out of the good of your heart?" I paused, "What's the catch?"

"Just a 25% cut of your profits would satisfy my needs, I have a good feeling about you. And of course I expect you to visit me every now and then, I get quite lonely here. Whatever friends and family I had had travelled to Cyrodil"

"Why didn't you go – "

"Enough chit-chat! Let's get to work!" Someone's protective of their past.

"Name's Layena, and you are..?"

"Aela Bierhelm."

"Lovely name! Meet me here tomorrow morning, 6 A.M sharp you hear?"

I have no idea why she's doing this. What the hell are the chances that she actually sees some 'potential' in me? She's quite attractive, slim, silver hair, about three-quarters length down her back, foggy grey eyes. Her leather armor extenuated her body, and I wasn't entirely sure as to how a woman of this stature could possibly be lonely in a city like Whiterun, where men, both single and married, are offering proposals left and right. Although, I'd be a fool to give up free training - well, almost free, training.

And that was that. Every day, for 7 days of the week, for months, she taught me everything she knew about thievery. I, of course, kept my end of the deal. 25% of all my spoils.

At first, it was barely anything, only 4 or 5 septims for an entire day's work. Eventually, I began hauling in more expensive items; gems, rings, amulets: Anything I could get my hands on.

After months of training, I was able to pickpocket someone in plain sight, with no need to wait in the shadows to strike at the perfect moment. But of course, all good things must come to an end.

One night, a beggar was asking me for a septim. I offered him one. He saw the coin bag I had taken the septim out of; his lips drooling with envy and greed.

I went on my way, to the vegetable stall, and began making small talk with Carlotta**. **

I could feel a hand on my lower back, where my pockets resided, carrying my coin purse. I brushed it off as nothing, thinking it was simply my imagination.

And that's when I literally felt a huge weight lifted off my back – or pockets in this case.

Stunned, I turned around to see that same damned beggar running into the Bannered Mare, with my coin purse latched between his filthy fingers.

"Guards! That bastard beggar ran off with my coin!" I screamed.

And just like that, three guards ran in after him, into the inn. I followed in after them, and then I saw the beggar dead on the ground.

I never really realized how easy it was to kill someone. Just like that, to easily steal someone's life away. More often than not, the life of someone you never knew.

"What the hell? Why'd you kill him!? He simply stole from me!" I exclaimed.

"It's been a while since we had a good bandit raid, my adrenaline got the best of me," Smirked one of the guards, obviously the one who delivered the killing blow.

"And we take thievery _very_ seriously here in Whiterun," continued another one of the guards.

"Here's your coin purse by the way," The guard announced, and tossed the purse to me.

"Ahem…any chance we can be paid for our troubles?" Talk about greedy. Murdering someone who was no better than me, a thief, and he wanted to be paid?

"Not a chance, I'll be sure to let Jarl Bulgruuf know of the innocent civilian you just butchered here in Whiterun, who deserved nothing more than the night in Dragonsreach jail," I lied.

The first kill, and it wasn't even mine, but it was my doing. I felt guilty, but it was… invigorating. I couldn't admit it at the time, but my adrenaline was rushing, my heart was quickening. It felt… different, but I welcomed it.

* * *

To this day I can't seem to describe the feeling I had pumping through me, as I witnessed the lifeless body before me be dragged out of the Bannered Mare. In a way, he did deserve it, didn't he? If he stole from the wrong person, a mercenary perhaps, his eminent death would have been gods know how much more painful and merciless.

After my encounter with the beggar, I realized how dangerous it was for a thief to live in Whiterun. If I was caught, it would be no doubt that I would have the same ending, if not more brutal, as the beggar. I went to speak to Layena, to ask her what I should do.

"If you want to leave Whiterun, then I can't stop you. Just know that they take thievery very seriously all over Skyrim. You`re not safe no matter where you go Aela." She proclaimed. She was fixing a small meal over the fire in her small house in Whiterun.

"Except for Riften…" I drifted off. Could I go back to the life I once only knew? Where I was born and raised for more than half of my life? No doubt, it would be painful, brining back memories. I thought about my parents every single day, but moving back to Riften… is that even possible? Do I have the strength to face my dark past?

"Don't tell me you plan on joining the Thieves' Guild! They're a pathetic excuse for a club, and a dying one for that matter." Layena laughed, going on about how she never knew how a guild that lived in the ratways, the sewers, could one scare and control an entire city into doing as they pleased, and how now they're nothing but scums living underground.

"What? Of course not! I plan on working alone. I don't know if I even want to continue my life as a thief. Who knows, I might open up a small shop of some sorts. Make my coin the hard way," I joked.

"Aela? Aela Bierhelm, actually _working _for some coin?" Emphasis on the working part, of course.

I knew if I moved back to Riften, that I would continue my thieving ways; After all, we're talking about the most notorious hold in all of Skyrim, infamous for it's thieves and pickpocketers.

"Well, if you want to move to Riften, I'm not going to stop you. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but are you sure you'll be able to move back there? To where your… parents raised you?"

Layena always cared about me, she wouldn't really show it, she was like that older sister that would boss you around, but it was always for good intentions. She would always want what's best for me, even if she brought up touchy subjects like this.

"I was thinking about that. But I feel like it'll be better for me, you know? I'll be able to confront my past, which is what has been haunting me since I was a little girl. And I mightveable to learn more about who my parents where, who I was, growing up..." I replied, looking down at my hands.

Could I really do it? Only one way to find out.


	3. Chance Encounter with a Nord

**Brynjolf is now in the house :3.**

* * *

I awoke early the next morning, packed what little belongings I had and headed out onto the road.

But I had to say my goodbyes, yet again, to Layena, a woman who took me, a stranger, under her wing. I have a feeling these goodbyes aren't going to end here.

"I'm heading to Riften Layena, thank you so much for everything –"

"Oh Aela, please, don't go all mushy and sentimental on my ass." She smiled geniuinly.

I let out a little laugh, "always have to kill the mood don't you?" I smiled back.

"Good luck on your travels, don't forget to give me a visit when you're in Whiterun."

"Speaking of which…" I trailed off.

"What is it?"

"You never told me why your family and friends left you to go to Cyrodil."

"That's a story for a different day, my fair lady. Tell you what, next time you visit, I'll tell you my story"

"Why can't you just tell me now?" I asked irritatingly, I hate not getting my way.

"Just making sure you'll come visit me eventually. You'd be surprised how lonely it gets living here."

"You think I wouldn't keep my promise? Of course I'll come visit Layena! And why don't you come with me?"

She snorted, "Riften? Ha! I'd rather have my headed mounted on a stick than step foot in that town."

"Why do you say that?"

"Whiterun is my home. Sure, I'm all alone in this city, but this hold is thriving. It's the center of Skyrim, the main trading post of an entire country. I'd be nothing but a petty begger if I lived in Riften. That city is dying, hun. You may not understand, or even believe, what I mean, but you will once you go back to Riften."

I paused, may be this isn't such a great idea? No… I have to go back to my roots, other than my parents, Riften is all I know when it comes to my past. I have to do it.

"Alright Layena… if you say so I guess. But you're always welcome if you change you're mind" I smiled.

"And the same to you too, Aela" returning my smile.

"Oh, by the way, could I ask you a favour? If possible…" I drifted off.

"Of course Aela, what is it?"

"I remember when I was younger, my parents told me they named me Aela after a huntress who lives here in the hold, in Whiterun I think. If you ever come across her, Aela The huntress, could you maybe tell her I want to meet her if possible?" I paused, looking at Layena. She seemed understanding and was listening carefully, so I continued,

"I've been to occupied to be able to find her, and I admit I feel a little uneasy meeting the only person who I know was once acquaintances with my parents. If you ever see her, to just tell her I'm in Riften, and that if she could come visit me, that I'd forever be in her debt."

Layena paused, "…Yes of course love" she smiled.

"Thank you Layena, for everything." I went to give her one last embrace. Would this be the last time I ever see her? No, I hope not. I don't need these thoughts creeping into my mind.

"Goodbye Aela" she smiled, a little teary eyed. "Watch the skies".

"And to you too, Layena, again, thank you so much.. for everything." I smiled before turning, and leaving the place that I once called home.

"Ugh, damn sunlight." I looked up the sky, cursing at the rays of light that were piercing my pale skin.

"Why am I so sensitive to this? Isn't this crap supposed to be good for you?" I thought.

"Everything alright back there?" Shouted the driver.

"Yes, yes, just keep your eyes on the road, I want to get to Riften before sunset" I replied.

The driver was charging me 20 gold pieces for the trip, definitely cheaper than having to steal a horse, which was close to impossible when it comes to stealing from the Whiterun stables, even for the most skilled of thieves.

My thoughts were cut short of driver laughing, "What's so funny? I'm not paying you to laugh!" I said

"Maybe you're a vampire!" he said jokingly.

"What? A vampire? Those are just a myth." I replied

"Well you better hope so, if you're a vampire, then I'm gonna have to kill you right here and now!" He laughed.

"You're either a vampire or the divines just really hate you '" He continued laughing to himself.

"Yeah… ok, why don't you just keep your mouth shut before I shove my dagger through your thick skull now, aye?" I replied.

"A vampire with an attitude, my kind of woman" he snorted, continuing to laugh.

I rolled my eyes, "how much longer until we get to Riften?" I asked, trying to ignore his snarky comments.

"We should be there soon, less than an hour." He replied, at least that got his attention away from the vampire crap.

"I'm going to rest, wake me once we get there." I said, not bothering to listen to his answer.

Is it possible? That I'm a vampire…?

My thoughts went back to the day my parents were killed. I remember that woman, taking me into the forest, telling me about how she wanted to feast on me.. on my blood, before she bit my neck with her razor sharp fangs. No, no… it's not possible.

You can tell when someone's a vampire. They need to feast on humans to stay alive, it's just not possible. I would be dead by now if I was a vampire, whether it was from the fact that I've never feasted on a human, or that I would've been spotted by others as a vampire.

It's just not possible… I then drifted to the nights that I would hunt, when I would suck on the blood of the hares and deer that I would kill…

"No, no, that's normal. Everyone does that, right?" I whispered to myself.

It just isn't possible, I would have found out by now! What explanation could there be though?

"I'd have to find answers, but how?" I thought, surely there's someone in Skyrim who studies these things, whether they be fact or fiction.

My thoughts were cut short by the driver yelling back to me, "Get ready, we're close to the drop off!"

"You're not dropping me off at the Riften entrance?" I asked.

"Ha! Are you kidding me? I'm not going anywhere _near _that city! I'll have my carriage robbed by those damned thieves!" He replied.

"Great." I thought, "I get to walk for gods know how long. No wonder why he was charging so cheap."

"Ugh, alright, but drop me off as close as possible!" I said, not in the mood to argue.

After another 5 minutes, the carriage stopped, "Alright, this is as far as I can go" he said.

"It's so dark, you expect me to walk the entire way?" I asked, one last chance to convince this bum into driving me to the entrance of the city.

"No chance sweetheart! Besides, all you gotta really watch out for are the bears and thieves, vicious bastards!" he laughed, "And those thieves would be smart to avoid a woman wielding a dagger," He continued, eyeing my sheathed weapon.

I placed a hand on my dagger, I've killed animals before, tons of them, but if I came across a thief, would it be just as easy to slit his throat? To watch his life and very soul escape him, by my hand?

"Thanks a lot," I replied sarcastically, tossing him a small pouch of gold pieces "Hope it was worth it."

The driver picked the gold pouch off the ground, and swore under his breath. Ignoring him, I asked how long until I get to the entrance.

"Just keep heading straight for about 10 minutes, you should see the gates eventually," He replied with a hint of annoyance.

Without another word, I headed towards the direction he pointed me to, and began walking.

The sky was dark and the air was thick with fog all around me, which was my kind of weather. No sun to burn at my skin - which has always baffled me. But along with the constant chills that ran through my body, along with the constant howlings in the background, this was not the most ideal situation to be trekking in.

_How in Dibella's name am I supposed to spot Riften in this weather? _I swore to myself, the fog blinding anything further than 15 feet.

I walked for about 20 minutes until I began to see the top of a tower, looking like Mistveil Keep, before I could make out the rooftops of most of the buildings as I got closer and walked through the dense fog.

After walking for another 5 minutes, I finally reached the Riften gates.

_10 minutes my ass. _

As I walked up to the gate, I was stopped by a guard.

"Halt, traveler! There's a 15 gold tax you must pay for entering this glorious city!" She said, obviously sounding like she practiced her lines for hours the night before.

"Riften is my hometown, and I've never had to pay any of the bogus tax you're speaking of. So I suggest you let me pass on through before someone gets hurt." I replied, standing my ground.

"Alright, alright, keep your top on and mouth shut woman, follow me." She replied, sounding annoyed that I had weeded her out so quickly.

I smiled to myself, I was better at this bribing and lying business than I thought.

The woman led me to the large wooden doors, and opened up the gates, ushering me inside. I took a deep breath and entered the unknown, a place I had once called home, now completely unfamiliar, full of mysteries and secrets.

As I entered Riften, I realized how familiar it looked as it did when I was once a child.

The inn located right in the middle of the city, the center of it all. Right behind it was the city circle that my parents would sell their spoils at, and where I had spent most of my days.

Bordering the inn and the city were several stores and homes, also untouched by time.

Off to my far right, I could see it. The place I once called home, now obviously occupied by strangers, light up with life from the inside. No need to scare the occupants, I'll visit in the morning.

"I need somewhere to sleep for the night… but where?" I thought to myself.

Then I remembered the lower floors of Riften, the much more shadier part of the town, if that was even possible for Riften.

I headed to the back of the town, past a small bridge and down one of the staircases that led to the lower level of Riften; where nothing but floorings of wood and nails separating me from the water flowing below.

"How can people live down here? It's filthy…" I said to myself as I saw the skeever droppings, dust and gods know what else, scattered in the dark corners.

I found a small nook next to a gate, what looked like to be the ratways that I would here about from my parents, somewhere to definitely avoid.

As soon as I laid on the ground, I realized just how tired I really was. My eyelids felt heavy, and I drifted away into a deep sleep.

* * *

I awoke to some kids were poking at me with a stick, with my eyes still closed, I decided to listen in on their conversation,

"Psst… is she dead?" asked one of the children.

"Ha! I hope so, then we can put in Grelod's bed and scare the hell outta her!" another child laughed.

"Oh no, we've been out for so long, that old hag is bound to realize we're gone! Come on Samuel.. let's go back…" said the girl.

"You're no fun Runa, that's why you're the only girl in the orphanage! No one wants a boring chum for their daughter!" said another boy.

"Come on guys, you're so mean…" the girl's, Runa's, voice began to crack.

"Alright calm down Runa don't cry, let's head back guys, she's right" said Samuel, trying to comfort the young girl.

As I heard footsteps fading away slowly, I opened my eyes. "Took you kids long enough" I thought to myself.

I walked back up the staircase I had used the night, and began to hear my stomach growl. Groaning to myself, I realized I hadn't eaten anything since I left Whiterun. I headed to the inn, apparently named The Bee and Barb, and found a seat at the bar counter.

An Argonian woman, definitely not one of the more attractive reptilian I've seen in Skyrim, greeted my with a groan.

"Problem?" I asked.

"Newcomers are _always_ problems," She replied, not making any eye contact.

"If I were you, I'd accept whatever customer steps through your door, considering how empty it is here…" I said as I took a look around.

Only two other people were in the inn; A tall, rather muscular red-headed Nord leaning against the wall adjacent to me, only about 6 feet away from me, and black haired musician, Breton by the looks of it, sitting in a chair in the center of the inn with a luke by his side.

It was obvious the Nord was listening in, whilst the musician was busy away eating at a stale piece of bread. I didn't feel like arguing. _Let him eavesdrop, this should be interesting._

"Hey, watch your mouth!" She yelled, smacking her hands down on the counter in front of me.

She continued, "Just 'cuz you're some nord doesn't mean you can come parading into this town saying whatever your damned foul mouth pleases! And definitely not in _my _inn! They got a place for people like you–"

And with one quick swift of my hand, I unsheathed my elven dagger and pierced it into the counter between the argonian's fingers.

"Listen here, hag. I'm no murderer, but there's a damn first for everything. I've slayed more bears than you've had customers in this crappy excuse for an inn, by the looks of it" I said, cutting her off from her rant.

"Now if I may, I'd like a horker stew, and some mead while you're at it. And don't try anything funny, or next time, my dagger won't miss" I continued, taking my dagger out of the damaged counter and leaning back in my chair.

I could feel eyes on me from behind, most likely the red-head. Without a word, the argonian had gotten my meal and placed it on the counter.

"Ahem?"

"What now?" groaned the argonian.

"My mead?" I replied, Rolling her eyes she placed the bottle on the counter. "Anything else?" she asked sarcastically.

"No, Thank you" I replied, giving an obnoxious smile.

After I was finished with my meal, I tossed her a small coin purse, "For your troubles" I said with a smirk.

She took the coin bag whilst rolling her eyes, placed it in her back pocket and began walking past me.

As I stood up, I had pick pocketed the coin purse back, grinning with satisfaction. "Over my dead body" I thought to myself.

I heard a small laugh next to me, and turned to see that the red-headed man was still standing in the same place that I had first spotted him in.

"Problem?" I asked.

"Oh no, lass. I wouldn't dare get in your way or else you might intimidate me with that threatening dagger of yours" he replied sarcastically, with a light accent. With a voice like that, he could easily sway any woman in Skyrim.

"Watch it…" was all I was able to come up with.

"_You_ really need to watch who you steal from, lass" he replied.

"And why would you care?"

"Because with skills like yours, it would be a shame to go to waste"

"Great, now I'm blushing", I thought.

"Well thank you for your concern, but I think I can manage living in this town." I said

"You're new around here, lass? I think I would've remembered a face like yours." Is this his stale idea of flirting or does he actually care to know where I'm from?

"I was born here. Left when I was a child, decided to come back home, if you must know" I summarized, glaring my eyes.

"Well, if you plan on staying here in Riften, you should see about signing up for the Thieves Guild. I'm sure you'd prove to be quite the asset lass."

"Ha!" I laughed, "The Thieves' Guild? They're pathetic. Nothing but a club of homeless bums with nothing better to do than get drunk off their asses and getting thrown in Riften jail every other day. It may have been years since I've last been here, but I remember all the times I've seen thieves dead in the streets and rotting behind bars" I continued, laughing at the idea of actually joining a _guild_.

Pissing him off, he took me by the arms and pierced my body to the wall he was once leaning against.

"Listen here, lass. You know nothing about us, obviously" he said with a smirk, leaning in against me,

"We own this town, actually, we own this entire hold. Now I'd hate to have to teach you a lesson about respecting your elders, but I'll let you off the hook this time" he whispered.

"I know how you filths operate. You don't kill people, you only rob" I said, trying to keep my composure without spitting in his face.

"You're right lass, but no one would know if you just suddenly disappeared, especially a young newcomer such as yourself. And disposing of bodies isn't that difficult either" he replied with a smirk on his face.

Turning his head to the Breton who realized what the red-head meant by his words. He stood up out of his chair, nodded to the red-head, and exited the inn.

Letting go of my arms, he said "go down to the ratways, find you're way to The Raged Flagon, that's where we operate. I'm giving you one last chance, lass. If you don't show up, I'm not giving you another chance." He said, smiling feverishly.

"I hope you're ready to be disappointed, _lad._" I said, mimicking his accent. "I came to Riften for personal business, and joining you're little club wasn't on my to-do list. I work alone."

I didn't care if I pissed him off now. The crap he said about how they operate the entire Rift was complete BS. I knew Maven Black-Briar controlled the hold, and that the guild was simply one of her pawns. Obviously, the red head wasn't aware I knew of this.

"I'm going to see you again one way or another, but I suggest you stay out of trouble and meet me down in our headquarters" he replied, and without turning back, he headed out of the inn.

"Asshole" I said out loud.

His threats aren't going to faze me. The nine divines themselves couldn't force me to join his guild. I came here to live the life I want to live. I didn't leave my life in Whiterun only to be bullied into joining some faction.


	4. The Journal

Not wanting to encounter that cocky thief again, I took the back entrance out of The Bee and Barb.

The sky was grey, filled with clouds as the fog fell all around me. I smiled as I realized that the weather here in Riften was much more liveable than that of Whiterun. No sun or rays to burn at my skin. "I could get used to this" I thought to myself as I smiled.

Looking from side to side, I made sure I wasn't being followed by the red-head, and he was no where to be found. Good.

Then I noticed it. To my right, only about 15 feet away from me, was my childhood home. I knew I was going to have to face it sooner or later, so I walked up to the front door and gave it a knock.

A woman, dark elf, answered the door, "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, actually…" I paused, shifting my head a bit to the left, trying to take a peek into the home, "I was wondering if you knew who the previous owners of this home were?" No need to let her know who I was... yet.

"And why would that concern you, may I ask?" This was going to be harder than I thought.

I didn't want to blow my cover this quickly, but I might as well let her know.

"I'm Viola and Mattais' daughter." I paused, looking to see any indication in the woman's face that might give away that she knew them.

"Oh… oh why yes, you must be… Elena?" She asked.

"Aela, actually." I said, smiling, "so you knew them?"

"No, not too well. Although, my husband would occasionally buy your parents' spoils. But when you all left Riften so abruptly, the house was put up for sale after over 3 months of it being vacant. The price was cheap, and it was better than living under the town, so we went for it."

So no one in Riften knows my parents are dead… "Well, I was wondering if there was anything left over in the house when you moved in?" I asked, looking down on the ground.

"No, I'm sorry dear. The Jarl had the entire lot cleaned out before it was put up for sale."

I fell silent, after a long pause, "Oh well, thanks anyways. If you find anything…"

"Well, actually, now that I remember…" she said, cutting me off. Dear gods, please, let her say what I think she's going to say.

"When Helmer, my husband, and I were cleaning our basement, we found a room hidden behind a wardrobe… we didn't find much in it, other than a bed and dresser" she said as my face lit up.

She couldn't help but smile seeing my grin that stretched across my face, "You can feel free to come see it if you want, it's been vacant since we found it, we've been trying to conceive a child, and planned on using it as a nursery."

"I'd be forever in your debt, thank you so much" I said, as she led me into the home.

As the dark elf led me past the kitchen and down the stairs to the basement, memories of my parents and childhood began flooding my mind.

Recollections of my mother cooking dinner in front of the fireplace, whilst my father would create poisons over the apothecary lab in the basement that would aid them when hunting. It was all too familiar, more familiar than I would have thought.

The woman then stopped in front of two wooden doors, that were next to the apothecary lab. As she opened up the doors, I instantly knew this room, it was my bedroom.

"Well, this is it" she said, looking at me.

I paused as I glanced around the room. It looked exactly as it did 8 years ago, other than the dust collecting on the night table and dresser, nothing was different.

"Did you find anything in here?" I asked, as I walked up to the bed.

"Yes, actually. We found a book, it looked like a journal. But it didn't make much sense. Helmer didn't want to throw it out, though. He was going on about how it's some age-old artefact." She scoffed.

"He thinks that just because it's old, that it's going to be worth thousands in a few years. Fool… but I think it may have been written by your father, it's has your name on it too, I think" she continued.

I was dying on the inside, but I remained patient. "Do you still have it by any chance?" I asked. This might be what I've been looking for. Maybe the divines sent me here because of this book; it must have some importance if it has my name on it.

"Yes, actually, it should be here somewhere…" she said, walking out of the room to a wardrobe adjacent to the bedroom doors.

I followed her as she was skimming through dozens of books on a shelf.

"Why do you demand to keep every single damn book you come across Helmer… this man is going to drive me crazy, I swear… Ah! Here it is" she said as she lifted a journal from the abyss of books and handed it to me.

It was bright orange, filled with dozens of pages, and by the looks of it, has seen better days.

I opened the book, _'To Aela' _was all that was written on the front page. As I lightly felt the border of the paper with my finger, my eyes began to tear up. Trying to hold them back, I looked up at the woman.

"Thank you so much… you have no idea how grateful I am for this ma'am…" I said, choking on my words.

"Please, call me Elsa" she smiled, "feel free to take the book, and if you want, have a look around the room. You never know, you may find something we missed" she said.

I returned her smile as she turned around and headed back up the stairs without saying another word.

I turned around and began to reminiscence at what was once my childhood bedroom. I looked down at the journal, and flipped the page.

_Aela, if you're reading this, then your mother and I have passed into the other world. I do not know how, or when, we will leave you, but know that because we have died, you're life is just beginning._

_You must stay within Riften's borders for as long as possible. Once Skyrim knows who your truly are, you will no longer be safe. I have entrusted for you to be watched over by a man that you will eventually meet here in Riften. He is a dear friend of mine, and of the guild I was once a part of._

Dear gods, please don't tell me my father was with the Thieves' guild… There's no way, he would never screw his own life over, and that of his family, for the guild…

_Your mother never knew of that I was with the Thieves' Guild. It would break her heart. I had to convince the entire guild that my family would not interfere with business. I loved you and your mother so much, but we were barely making enough gold to scrape by.__I had no other choice. I'm so thankful for Gallus' understanding. If it wasn't for him, gods know where we would have been now._

_Aela, I need you to understand that the man who you will meet will be your protector.__You must give him all your trust and faith. He will watch over you as you grow and realize who you truly are.__His name is Brynjolf, and he is a very important asset to the Thieves' Guild.__I pray that you won't join the guild that I was once a part of, but knowing Brynjolf, he will always try to have his way, but he doesn't know who you are, Who you truly are, The Dragonborn._

"What the hell is a Dragonborn? I wish this made more sense…" I whispered as I continued to read the last sentences,

_I wish I could have told you whilst I was still alive. I dread the day you will read this, and that I won't be here to explain it all to you. But there would be no way I could tell you this when you were a child, you wouldn't have made any sense of it. _

_Akatosh has blessed you with the soul of the dragons. You must not tell anyone of who you truly are, no one can know until it is absolutely necessary. You will have all of Skyrim coming after you, demanding too much of you, and it will break you. _

_Until then, Aela, my dear, dear child, find Brynjolf. Show him this journal. He will know who you are, and will know what to do. However, hear my plea: do not reveal to him your true identity just yet, for you cannot trust anyone. _

_Good luck my daughter, I pray that the nine divines continue to protect you as you continue your journey as the Dragonborn. __Hold your mother and I close to your heart, as we will always be watching down on you from the other world, waiting for the day that we will once again embrace._

_With all my love, your father,_

_ Mattais Bierhelm _

As I wiped away the tears rolling down my cheeks, I closed the book. I need to find whoever Brynjolf is, he's my link to learning more about my father, especially if they were once friends and ran in the same guild.

I did a quick sweep of the room, searching through the drawers, under the bed and over the dresser for anything else that Elsa may have missed. With no success, I took the journal and headed up the staircase. I met Elsa and her husband sitting in the kitchen,

"Thank you, for everything you've done today Elsa." I smiled, looking up at her.

"Your welcome" she smiled, "And again, please feel free to take the book. You'll find a better use for it than us."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa" I turned to Helmer, who was now out of his seat, walking towards Elsa and I, "what book?" he asked.

"Oh shut up Helmer, it's been collecting dust for years. And neither of us can even read! Why do you need so many damn books if you can't even understand what's written in them?!" she exclaimed.

Dumbfounded, he looked at his wife, "Well, what if I _wanted_ to start learning how to read, hmm? With the cost of books sky-rocketing, it'll be impossible to afford one if I wanted to start!" he yelled.

"Well then, good thing you have hundreds more in the damn basement, Helmer!" she yelled back.

Trying to stop them from arguing, I raised up a small coin purse. "Would this suffice as an exchange for the book, Helmer?" I asked, smiling.

Eyeing the coin bag with envy, he grabbed the purse without a second thought and walked off into the bedroom, "I guess I can live with one less book in my collection."

Laughing, Elsa thanked me for shutting him up, and I handed her a coin purse. I left the house, saying my goodbyes to Elsa and Helmer, thanking them for the book and for allowing me into their home. At least I learned something from their argument; neither of them can read, which meant my secret about being a Dragonborn was still hidden.

As I exited the home, I realized that I now had more questions than I did answers. What's a Dragonborn, and why am I the Dragonborn? Who's Brynjolf and why would he want to protect me, let alone, why would I need his protection? Who do I go to to learn about being a Dragonborn, if I can't trust anbody, and why can't I trust anyone? All these questions that need answers.

But I know that this is only the beginning. As I dig deeper into this, into my past and future, I will only have more questions that will need more answers.


	5. Caught Red-handed by a Thief

As I stepped out into the open, I could feel the sun's rays penetrating my skin. "How is it even possible the sky cleared so quickly?" I sighed, cursing at the sun. I then remembered the night I was bitten by that monster, she was wearing a hood. _Perhaps that's what I need,_ I thought to myself as I drifted off.

I decided to head to the city circle, in hopes of finding some sort of hood that could protect me. As I got closer to the circle, I spotted that red-haired bastard at a stall, only about 20 feet away from me. "Damn it..." I muttered - thank the divines his back was turned to me. I crouched and slowly began to back away. As I was reversing slowly, I could see a shadow standing behind me as I bumped into the stalker.

I felt them place their hands on my lowered back and pushed me forward, "Stand up, you thief!"

As I stood up and turned around, I realized it was a guard. Of course.

"What do you think you're doing, exactly?" He yelled, obviously attracting the attention of one too many people, most likely including the red head.

"Oh, nothing, sir. I was simply -"

"Don't try lying to me, thief! I've been serving in Riften for years! I know a liar and a sneak when I see one!" He continued yelling in my face, as if he was some sort of military sergeant.

I haven't even been in Riften for 24 hours and I've already been caught, lovely.

Suddenly, I heard heavy footsteps come up behind me, as I felt a hand lay on my shoulder. "Better not be who I think it is..." I thought to myself.

"What do you think you're doing, lass?" Asked the voice behind me. Damn his accent.

"I apologize friend, I was simply teaching her a thing or two about evasion" he continued, "But it seems she's failed the test," He chuckled as he walked up to the guard. He leaned his head to the guard's ear, whispered something to him, and handed him what looked like a small coin purse.

As the red head backed away, he cleared his throat, "Glad we were able to see eye to eye".

The guard nodded, "Alright, nothing to see here folks! Back to what you were doing, all of you!" He exclaimed to the crowd as he was walking away.

As I began to walk away, the Nord stopped me and grabbed my shoulder, "Hey, where do you think you're going, lass? I just saved you from being thrown into prison, and not even a thank you?"

"I could have handled that without your help - thank you," I answered him coldly as I turned to face him.

"I highly doubt it, that guard would've had you-"

"Listen here, hotshot. I don't need your help. I can easily take care of myself in this town. If I was able to evade every single one of guards in Falkreath _and_ in Whiterun growing up, then I sure as hell can do it in this crummy town too. If you expect a sincere thank you after the way you spoke to me in the inn, then you have another thing coming, you hear me? Your cocky attitude may work with the other women in this hold, but not with me. I'm not here to make friends, whether that be with you or your little guild buddies, understand that." I said, cutting him off.

He smiled and leaned down to me, "I'm honoured that you think I have a cocky attitude, because that's what I've been aiming for. And the idea that you remembered our little conversation back at the inn truly touches my heart. So I expect you remember the part where I told you to meet me down in our headquarters, yes?" He asked, tilting his head into a smile as his dagger slid across my torso.

"Or else things won't end too well, aye, lass?" He continued.

I backed away and stared him dead in the eyes, "You're not the only one with the skills to kill, remember that," I said as I backed away, before I turned around and broke into a sprint.

* * *

I had awoken on the docks that were beneath the city. By the looks of the dark sky, and the lack of sound from the city circle, it must have been past midnight. I felt my back pockets, and realized how low I was running on gold. It would be the perfect thing to get my mind off of all the chaos. _Time to get to work_.

I found a house on the outskirts of the town, right next to the inner city gates. It seemed to be occupied by some of the richer residents of Riften, judging by how well it was kept on the outside compared to the surrounding homes, along with the gold trimming around the front doors and windows. Perfect.

I made a quick 360 degree turn to make sure I wasn't being watched, crouched and walked up to the door, turning the knob slowly to check if it was unlocked. And with a *click* , the door was open.

"It's like they're just begging to be robbed" I thought to myself, smiling. As I entered the home, I could see that whoever owned the place were asleep upstairs, judging by the loud snoring. I searched the entire first floor and only came across a few gems and garnets. No stronghold box, yet.

After several years of thieving, I learned that in almost every house, there will be some sort of safe or stronghold box, which would always reside in one of the upper stair bedrooms. And where there's a safe, there's valuables. As I headed up the stairs, I realized there were only two rooms, both on opposite sides of the hall. I could hear the loud snoring came from the left end of the hall, so I turned to the right and crouched in front of the door.

"Please, please, let the safe be in this room..." I pleaded to the gods in silence as I opened the door. As I went to open it, the knob refused to budge. Damn. I took out a lockpick and quickly picked the lock with ease, unlocking the door.

There was no one in the bedroom, but there was an obvious draft from the open window next to the vacant bed. The room was packed with wardrobes and shelves, filled with books, gems, jewellery and most importantly, the safe, which was opposite of the window: an easy exit if I was caught. Feeling the cool breeze brush against me, I shivered as I quickly took whatever was of value and placed it in my bag and pockets as I headed to the safe. It's been quite some time since I've pick-locked a safe, and I only had 8 lockpicks left. Please let the gods be on my side.

I crouched in front of the safe and took out my first lockpick. I was barely able to turn the lock 10 degrees before it broke the pick.

Damn. Of course this was going to be difficult. After my fourth lockpick, I began giving up hope. I should just admit defeat, but my curiosity as to what was in the safe of course got the better of me, and I continued to try to pick the lock.

I was down to my seventh lockpick when I felt a presence approaching me. "Oh crap" I thought. _Run, run you idiot!_ I was screaming to myself on the inside, when I remembered the window behind me. "Thank the gods" I thought, smiling as I remembered the easy exit.

I turned around to face the window, and I see that damned red-head sitting on the ledge of the window, with has back leaning against one of the supports. A cocky smile spread across his face, enjoying the show of my failed lock-picking skills.

"You can't be serious," I whispered, dumbfounded, as I stood up with my head down in defeat.

"I thought you had superior thieving skills, lass? But by the looks of it, I'd say you're no better of a lock-picker than one of those children from the orphanage," he said with a smirk.

"Stop following me, can't you just accept the fact that I'm not joining your guild and leave me alone?!" I screamed in a whisper.

Chuckling, he got up from his seat on the window ledge, "And _I'm_ the cocky one?" he asked hypothetically, pointing to himself. "This was tonight's target for one of my raids lass, but it seems you beat me to it," he said, eyeing the empty wardrobes.

"Quiet down, you'll wake up the owner!" I whispered.

"A dragon couldn't wake Ansgar up, nothing to worry about, yet."

"Well, I'm sorry that I beat you to the gold, but maybe you should try being a little bit quicker next time," I said with a smug look on my face.

"Aye, you're right lass. But it looks like I need to teach you a lesson. Now why don't you give me everything you got your thieving hands on from the raid, and I'll let you go."

"Not a chance, now how about you move out of my way before things get complicated?" I replied, trying to make my way around him.

Again, he pierced me up against the wall, blocking my way with his arms on each side of me.

"You're beginning to piss me off lass. I'd hate to have to kill such a sweet girl like yourself, so if you could stop being a pain in my arse, I'd greatly appreciate it." He was obviously bluffing, I knew he wouldn't dare kill me, at least I hope not...

"Back off, you're not getting a septim out of me!" I said, a little louder than I was hoping for.

He took his dagger and placed it across my neck.

"Keep it down lass, we don't need to alert the guards on patrol, now do we?"

"Just let me go, and I'll be sure to avoid you as best as possible, how about that?" I asked, attempting to reason with the thief.

"Oh no, lass. I _want_ you to keep getting in my way. I told you already, I want you in my guild, one way or another."

"_Your_ guild?" I asked.

"Well, I'm second in command. Mercer Frey is the guild master, but I pretty much run the show," he said with an obvious hint of pride in his voice.

"Do...do you know who Gallus is then?" I asked.

Any sort of emotion fled from his face. He backed away, releasing me from his grasp. "How do you know Gallus?"

"I don't think that concerns you, so you know him?"

"First, tell me how you know him, before I tear you to pieces where you stand lass. Do you work for Karliah?" he asked with hostility, his dagger wielded in his hand, ready to strike.

"What? No... no! I don't even know who that is!" I pleaded, putting my hands up in the air, "I read about Gallus in a journal, I thought he was your leader, that's what my father had written."

"Your father?" he paused, "What's your name, lass?" he asked, walking towards me, oblivious to the dagger that was only a foot away from me.

"Aela, Aela Bierhelm! Please... please put your dagger down!" I was tearing up, I've never been this scared for my life since the day my parents were murdered.

"By the nine..." He dropped his dagger as he leaned against the wall, falling to the floor with his head in his hands.

"You're Mattais' daughter?" He asked, not looking up.

"Y-yes" I replied, stuttering on my words as they choked up in my throat. Is this the Brynjolf my father had written about? The man who was supposed to watch over me, who only a minute ago, had his dagger across my neck, ready to strike?

We fell silent. It felt like hours, and then I heard the footsteps coming towards us from the opposite room.

"Damn..." I whispered, looking to the red head, "we have to get out of here!" I said as I tried to shake him away from his thoughts.

"Aye, out the window lass."

I looked outside of the window. It was at least a 15 foot drop. "I can't jump down that! I'll break every bone in my body!" I argued, turning to look at him. His face was seemed sickly and pale as I stared up at him. He seemed much more fazed by all of this than I had thought.

"No other choice" he told me as he wrapped his hand around my waist and jumped out the window.

As soon as our bodies made impact with the cold, hard, rough ground, I blacked out.

* * *

**a/n: Well this is probably one of my favourite chapters so far, thanks for reading and feedback/reviews appreciated :).**


	6. A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

**a/n: This chapter is a little longer than the others (was well over 3,000 words), so I split it into two smaller ones, which is why this chapter is somewhat shorter than the next one. Not as much action as I wanted, and has a bit mushy scenes in terms of comfort and 'romance' in the second half; but things get pretty intense here, which is close to action, right?**

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I awoke in a bed. I took a look around only to find a table with a couple chairs, along with another bed and dresser. As I was about to raise my head off the pillow, I heard footsteps coming towards me. I quickly closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

I heard a chair move against the bed as someone sat next to me.

"What am I going to do with you, lass..." said the red headed thief. After what felt like almost a minute of silence, I heard another pair of footsteps coming into the room.

"There you are, Brynjolf. I was looking for you" said the voice, it was a male, who also had a some-what similar accent to the red head, Brynjolf.

So this is the Brynjolf my father had written about in the journal... The man who's supposed to watch over me, who, ironically was the reason I lay in this bed, with every bone in my body aching in pain. "At least I'm not dead I suppose..." I thought to myself.

"What am I supposed to do, Delvin? She's been out cold for 2 days now. And Mercer's hasn't taken a liking to her, and he's beginning to get pissed."

Is this the Mercer that Brynjolf vaguely told me about, the guild master? Who the hell is he to make such a quick judgement of me? Oh how I would love to give him a piece of my mind...

"Aye, Bryn. You need to figure out what it is you plan to do with her, before Mercer kicks her arse to the curb. Why are you so attached to her anyways? She doesn't prove that much of an asset, other than a few thieving skills that she's picked up, she's nothing we haven't seen before" he paused, as if expecting an answer, before he continued,

"If it's a woman you're looking for, there are dozens up in Riften that would kill to be able to call you theirs," he said, laughing.

"No, no Delvin... It's not like that. It's more complicated then you would think. It's not safe to give you the details here in the cistern, meet me in Riften, and then we'll speak... Besides, she's so young, barely an adult... It wouldn't feel right..." he said, trailing off.

Pfft. Please, you'd be lucky to have me, thank you very much.

"As if that's ever stopped you before?" replied the other man, Delvin, with a chuckle. "Alright, Bryn I'll meet you at The Bee and Barb."

Without another word, the two men left the room. I waited another minute before I opened my eyes, digesting everything that I had overheard. As I raised my head off the pillow, I felt an excruciating jolt of pain rush through my entire body, from my feet to my head. I bit on my tongue to stop myself from groaning in the agnonizing pain.

"Damn you, Brynjolf..." I whispered to myself, cursing at the man who pushed me out of the window a couple nights before. I slowly placed my feet on the cold, hard floor and stood up.

Now what? I couldn't leave the room, chances are this Mercer fellow was probably right outside, and I didn't want to pick a fight with him in my current condition, so I went to my small bag that was placed on the table to check and see what belongings I still had.

Of course, all the gems, jewellery and gold I stole the night of the raid was gone. All that was left was my father's journal.

"Damn it! What if someone read it... that means they know the one secret I've been supposed to keep... gods, I'm an idiot!" Before I could ridicule myself more, I heard footsteps come from behind me. I turned to see who it was, but it wasn't a face I had seen before. He had black shaggy hair, and was some-what muscular. He seemed like a Breton, but was actually rather short for one, surprisingly.

"Well, well, well. You're finally awake! Aela, is it?" he asked coldly. His voice sounded scrawny and was rough. It reminded me of the small dogs and puppies that I would see as a child growing up. A puppy that you would want to kick when it wouldn't shut up.

"And you must be Mercer."

"Oh how sweet, I'm guessing Brynjolf already introduced me to the newborn." he said, smiling sarcastically as his tried to make himself seem friendly, but his eyes screamed the opposite. I knew who he really was, nothing more than a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"Why don't you take out whatever is riding up your ass?" was what I wanted to say, instead I replied with a smile.

"It's always the quiet ones," he scoffed, "I've got my eyes on you, so you better watch yourself in this guild. Once you've 'recovered' from your fall, come see me so you can show me your wondrous thieving skills that Brynjolf spoke so highly of" he said as he began to turn back around.

Confused, I asked, "wait, what? Why would I want to do that?"

Turning back to look at me, a smirk appeared across his face. "Oh, Brynjolf never told you? In exchange for you resting and recovering here in the cistern, away from all harm, you'll be joining the guild."

How the hell was I supposed to know this if I was asleep for the past two days, you idiot?! Why would Brynjolf do this, he knows how much I despise this guild!

"Over my dead body!"

"Oh, we can easily make that happen" he said, smiling. "I don't know what he sees in you, other than a fiesty attitude. Every woman who ever joined was killed within her first week on the job, that's why there's only one other woman in the guild. And if it was my decision, I would've had Vex taken care of a long time ago" he rambled, "You, you're weak. Fragile. I can break you on your first day if I wanted to. So watch your back, girl."

How much I would have loved to shove my dagger through his thick skull; he would make a lovely first kill. Instead, I continued to bite hard on my tongue. Seeing that I wasn't ready to put up a fight, he left the room without saying another word.

"I'll deal with you when I'm ready, Mercer." I said to myself. I went to go take a seat down next to the table and opened up the journal, trying to forget the conversation I just had, hoping it will calm me down by re-reading the lines my father had written, that I had very well memorized by now.

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**Thanks for reading & as always, reviews appreciated :). Part two of Chapter 6 will be up later today.****  
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***Also, A**** very special thanks to Adrithiel for helping me out of my writer's block and for contributing amazing ideas to my upcoming chapters :)***


	7. Comfort in a Time of Chaos

As I was reading the journal over again, I looked up to see Brynjolf in the doorway.

"I see you're finally awake" he said, smiling as he took a seat across from me.

I threw him back a fake smile, before I began glaring my eyes.

"You alright there, lass?"

I took my hand and slapped him hard across the face, "what the hell were you thinking signing me up for the Thieves' Guild?! Are you crazy?!"

Dumbfounded, he leaned in close to me. I waited for an answer as the silence began to engulf me. Finally, he spoke. "Was that supposed to hurt?" he asked, smiling.

Feeling my face go red from his close proximity I leaned back in my chair as he did the same.

"I had no other choice, lass. When we jumped out of the window, I had to hide you from the guards who came searching around. And when I took you to The Bee and Barb, Keerava, the innkeeper, refused to let you sleep in any of her beds, even when I was offering well over the 10 septim cost. But then again, who can blame her, espicially the way you treated her the other day..." he said, letting out a small laugh.

"And knowing Mercer, I knew I would have to travel to oblivion and back before he would allow you to stay here. So I made him a deal, that you'd join the guild once you recovered. I may have over-exaggerated how well you were when it came to being a thief, espicially after your little show with the safe, but I really had no other choice lass, it's not my fault."

I scoffed at his comment about my skills, "so you really expect me to join the guild?"

"It looks like you have no other choice, but it's really not as bad as you think. It can be quite rewarding."

"We'll see about that. As soon as I'm recovered, I'm heading out of Riften, and I'm going to go as far away from here as possible."

"I'm sorry but I'm afraid I can't let you do that. I made a promise to your father. And now that I finally found you, you're all mine" he smiled.

I fell silent as I looked down. It was the first time anyone spoke of my father that way, as someone who truly knew him for who he really was.

He could see the uneasiness in my face, and attempted to change the subject.

"So what's that in your lap, lass?"

Looking down, I realized I had my father's journal wide open. "Oh, nothing, just a book I found..." I said as I hastily closed it. But before I can put it back in my bag, Brynjolf grabbed it out of my hands.

"Aww, what is it? A diary, lass? I never knew you had a thing for writing!" he laughed.

"Brynjolf, give that back, you're such an ass! Don't you dare read it!"

"Why not? Do you have your deepest, darkest secrets written in here? Anything about me?" he asked, grinning from one cheek to the other.

I couldn't help but let out a small laugh at his question, but I quickly swept it out of his hands.

"You can't read it, it's not mine."

"Then whose is it?"

"My father's" I paused, "I found it here when I cam back to Riften. He's written about you in it."

Shocked, he asked, "What does it say?"

So I told him about what my father had written, how Brynjolf was meant to watch over me, and that Skyrim would soon be coming after me. Of course, leaving out the Dragonborn part.

"Why would the entire region be coming after you?" he asked, confused.

_Crap. Is he already on to me?_ I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know" I lied, looking down. Before he could question me, I tried to change the topic.

"You're telling me you never read it when I was asleep?"

"Now, would I invade your space like that, lass?" he said, smiling.

I returned his smile, "Either you're a really good liar, or you actually care about my privacy." I paused, "So why did he pick you? To 'protect' me?" I asked, gesturing air quotes around the word protect.

"What's" mimicking my gesture, "this supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Well, you're nothing but a thief. You couldn't kill a bandit if you're life depended on it. So I don't see how you could possibly be of any help, really." I said, giving a cheeky grin.

He pulled my chair closer to his again, "You've seen nothing yet, lass. My skills will surely leave you speechless when the time comes" he said, smiling.

I felt my face burn again, "Damn you and your accent" I thought to myself. I tried to seem unfazed by his close proximity, "So, why did he pick you?" I asked again.

"Well when I was a young lad, only 20 or so, I had joined the guild. Your father was the next to join, he joined 2 years after me, when you were 8. I guess because we were both the newborns, we stuck together until you all disappeared two years after."

"How did you know how old I was?"

"Your father would never stop talking about you, or your mother. He told me everything about you, how old you were, when your birthday was, what you liked and hated. Everything." he smiled.

_So he's 32 now_. He definitely looks a lot younger than that.

"Ugh, how embarrassing..." I said as I let out a small laugh, imagining the stories my dad would go on about. But deep inside, I was missing my father so much. All these quirky, funny, special things that he would do, only made me miss him even more.

He chuckled, "you meant the world to him. But he could only speak about you and your mother to me. If the rest of the guild knew how attatched he was to his family, Mercer would have alerted Gallus and have him booted out. He really despised your father, but then again, he despises just about every single one of us. But the only way you can be kicked out of the guild, would be by murder." He paused, looking at my expression.

Great. This guild thing just keeps getting and better.

I could feel my throat begin to swell up as I looked down on the ground. I wanted to know more about my father, but it was so difficult hearing all of this. To know that someone who was a complete stranger to me, knew more about my father than I did.

"It's alright, lass." he whispered, "We can finish the story another day, give you time to recover..."

"No, I'm fine." I said, looking up with a smile.

He paused before he quickly finished. "Well, knowing that I was reliable enough, a month before your family had dissappeared, your father told me that he wanted me to watch over you, because that you'd be facing difficult situations once you become an adult, so I agreed. After a few years since you all went off the grid, I began losing hope, not knowing if I would ever see your father again, or meet you. And then, you came back to Riften, and I never even knew..." he paused, looking down, before he looked back up.

"I never knew who you were, or what you looked like. All I had was a name to go on... nothing else. But you're finally here. To be honest, I never thought I'd ever meet you" he explained, forcing a small grin.

But I could see the pain in his eyes, and I felt the same way. I felt my eyes begin to water, but I did my best to hold them back, trying to stop myself from seeming weak.

He wiped the tear off my cheek. "I think that's enough flashbacks and stories for now, lass. You never know who's listening in..." he said, eyeing the door.

Before I could say anything, Brynjolf yelled out to the door, "Delvin, you ass I know you're there!"

And of course, he was right. Delvin walking in, with his head held high, "Oh, no, Bryn. I was simply passing by" he said, smiling widely. He was a Breton, bald - or almost bald - and was rather tall, compared to Mercer.

"Hello, you must be Aela." he said to me, smiling. "Brynjolf here just could not stop talking about you for the past week. Ever since you stepped foot in Riften, all I've been hearing is 'Aela this, and Aela that'!" he said, laughing. I turned to look at the red head who's cheeks seemed to turn a very light rosy color, barely noticeable.

"Oh, how sweet." I said, letting out a small laugh with the Breton, "What exactly did he say?" I asked, looking back up at Delvin.

"Dear gods, where do I begin? Just yesterday-"

"Ok, ok, Delvin, how about you go down to the flagon and get yourself something to drink, hm?" Said Brynjolf, cutting him off in an attempt to shut him up, and I couldn't help but let out a small laugh at his embarrassment.

"You're no fun, Bryn. I suppose we'll speak another time," said Delvin, smiling at me, "when this bum isn't here to ruin the fun" he finished as he walked out of the room.

"He seems sweet" I said, looking to Brynjolf as he was shaking his head.

"Aye, well don't get too comfortable. Don't expect the rest of the guild to be as welcoming" he said, looking up at me.

"I'd love to go meet these infamous friends of yours, _Bryn_" I said, mimicking the nickname that Delvin gave him.

He couldn't help but smile, "Not until you're fully recovered, lass. The second you step foot out of this room and into the cistern, you'll be under Mercer's control. And he's dying for the moment that you do."

"Neither can I" I thought as I clenched my fists.

"Speaking of which, how come you weren't hurt from that two story fall the other day? It seems like it hadn't fazed you a bit" I asked.

"When you've been in the guild as long as I have, you have to get used to the pain. Whether it be jumping out of shady escape routes, like windows," he chuckled, "or taking a few punches. You'll get used to it, lass"

"Joy." I thought as I groaned. "As if this guild couldn't get any better."

"Now, I need you to rest and be up and running as soon as possible. I don't think I can stand seeing you in that bed for another day, lass" he said.

"Ugh. Delvin's right, you really do ruin all the fun" I groaned again as I stood up. He came up to me as he wrapped one hand around my waist and swooped my shoulder around his neck.

"I think I can manage getting to the bed without the help, Brynjolf" I scoffed, but he ignored me as he smiled and lead me towards the bed.

Before he had me lay down on the bed, I turned to him, "Thank you, for everything." I said as I looked up to him and smiled, realizing I never thanked him once since for everything he had done.

"You're welcome, lass" he replied.

He then wrapped his hands around me and embraced me tightly. I felt myself begin to tear up as I hugged him back, fearing the day that I would leave. I already did it on more than one occasion growing up, why would this one be any different?

He then let go, and placed me in the bed, "Take care, lass. This is only the beginning" he said before he turned around and began walking away.

Thinking he was going to leave so I had time to think and properly embrace everything I had learned today, he instead went and sat in the chair across from me, leaning back with his hands crossed behind his head.

"What are you doing?" I asked in confusion.

"Making sure you fall asleep."

"You're not serious are you? I can't sleep with you watching."

"You did for the past two days" he answered, grinning.

I felt my face begin to blush as I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Whatever" I silently smiled as I turned away from him and slowly laid down on the bed, feeling the pains pierce through my body as I covered myself in the furs on the bed.

I then realized how tired I was, even after two days of constant sleep. Hopefully, this will be the last day of recovery, or else I'm going to lose my sanity. And then, I'll have a little talk with Mercer.

"Don't think I'm going to forget what Delvin said. I expect you to tell me everything you said about me once I feel better, you hear me?" I said, still looking away from him as I began to fall asleep. As I heard him let out a small laugh, I drifted deep into my sleep.

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**First, if I made a mistake with the math in terms of their ages, cut me some slack, I suck at math. It took me a good 10 minutes to figure it all out. And second, if you're thinking: "The age between Aela & Brynjolf is too damn high! That's just disgusting!" Silence! Age knows no numbers! I actually made him a lot younger than in the original game x)**

**All joking aside, thanks for reading & Feedback appreciated :3**


	8. The Conversation of A Lifetime

After the fourth day of being confined to the bed, I had finally recovered from the fall. As I stood up from the bed, Brynjolf was by my side, instructing me of how to speak to Mercer, and to not let him get under my skin, no matter how difficult it would be.

"Remember lass, the minute you step foot out of this room, Mercer owns you" said Brynjolf, helping me keep my balance.

"For someone who promised my father to watch over me, you seem oddly at ease about this whole thing."

"I'm just simply trying to comfort you, lass. I don't think me freaking out would help with the situation" he smiled vaguely.

"I'm practically signing my own death wish being a part of this guild, I hope it was worth it."

"Why would you think that?"

"When you were gone the other day, when I was in bed… I had a talk with Mercer…" I answered, uncertain whether or not to tell him about the guild master's rant.

"What? What did he say?" his eyed widened, hastily waiting for an answer.

"It's nothing really; he was just trying to scare me about the guild thing, I guess. He was just going on about how I'm not as great of a thief as you think I am and whatnot. It's nothing to worry about, Brynjolf" I lied, hoping he won't catch my bluff.

He paused, "You better not be lying, lass."

"Would I lie to you?" I said with a smile. I'm getting _much_ better at this.

I stepped out of the room, and of course, there was Mercer, waiting for me. As I stepped into the cistern, I noticed just how large and grand the guild's headquarters really was, but by the looks of it, it's definitely seen better days. There was no one in the cistern, except for Mercer, who was standing far across from me, in front of a large desk, with his arms crossed.

"About time" he scoffed, walking up to me. "Brynjolf, I need to speak alone with Aela for a moment" he said, looking up at him.

Brynjolf turned to look at me, but before he could object, I gave him a reassuring nod. Without a word, he turned and left the cistern.

"I have your first test. If for some miraculous reason you survive, then you'll be an official member of the guild" he told me.

"Well, what is it?"

"I want you to go kill a dragon" he answered with a sly smile.

I was speechless, after a long pause, I finally spoke up.

"A… dragon? What does that have anything to do with the Thieves' Guild?" I asked, hoping for a way out of this death sentence.

"You dare question me, newborn?" he said harshly. "If you must know, I'm testing your survival skills. If you can kill a dragon, then you can withstand the dangers of what the guild brings."

I couldn't make myself seem weak, I had to prove myself to Mercer, to the guild, to Brynjolf. They all think I'm not capable enough, even if they won't admit it. I had to prove I was capable of living to everyone's standards.

"Can I bring someone with me, at least?" I asked.

"Funny you should mention that, actually" he grinned. "I want you to take Delvin Mallory with you. He's been 'laid off' for quite sometime after a… misfortunate accident. He needs to show that he's back on his feet, and a simple house raid won't suffice. So I think this is the perfect job, two birds with one stone." He smiled.

Accident? Mercer just keeps getting more obscure by the day… At least it's Delvin and not one of the other guild members, who, according to Brynjolf, aren't too crazy about me being here.

"Alright, I'll do it." I said.

"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice newborn. Make it out alive, and you'll have a spot on the guild, if not… well, you will surely be missed" he said, scoffing.

I rolled my eyes, "Just tell me where the dragon is, Mercer."

He glared his eyes at me, irritated by my attitude, which admittedly, had me laughing on the inside.

"It's north of Riften by an hour. When you come across a burial ground, you'll surely see the dragon." He said, turning around to go back at his desk.

"Now get out of my face, I want the job done by tonight."

"Where do I find Delvin?"

I could hear him groan in annoyance as he walked up behind his desk, laying his hands down on the table, reading through some sort of book.

"Past the door to your right, newborn. He's in the Ragged Flagon" he said, without looking up.

What an ass. I walked away and went to the direction he pointed me in, and opened the door that was past a small hall.

As I entered the room, I could tell it was some sort of bar, along with a seating area, which was alight with candles, but passed the bar, it was nothing but boxes and barrels, engulfed in darkness.

I walked up to Brynjolf and Delvin, who were sitting at a table across from me.

"Hello," I said with a smile.

"Ah, your back. So, how did it go?" asked Brynjolf.

"Mercer gave me my first task..." I paused, "I have to go slay a dragon."

Both their mouths dropped.

"Did I hear you say dragon?!" asked Delvin in shock, looking up at me.

"Yep…" I looked to Brynjolf, who was still silent.

"I know you're going to be completely against this Brynjolf, but this is my chance to prove myself to the guild, that I'm actually worth something, that I'm not just another girl with a few thieving skills here and there. This is my chance."

"You do realize, this is a dragon we're talking about. I've never even seen one, let alone came face to face with one. You're risking your life here, lass" argued Brynjolf, trying to talk me out of it.

"Just think of it as any other job you would have gotten. I've already been assigned to it, there's no backing out now. Besides, I'm not going alone" I smiled.

They both raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Delvin's coming with me" I said, turning to him.

"Me? Mercer must really want me dead if he's sending me to kill a damn dragon" laughed Delvin.

"Alright, I'm going to go have a talk with Mercer" said Brynjolf, getting out of his seat. I walked up to him and laid my hand on his shoulder, gesturing for him to sit back down.

I leaned down to his ear and whispered to him, "You may have promised my father that you'll protect me, but I'm an adult, and I can make my own decisions. If I want to go get slaughtered by a dragon, then so be it."

"You're going to kill me, lass…" he said as he sat back down.

"No need to worry, Bryn. I'll take care of your girlfriend for you" said Delvin as he winked at me, making me let out a small laugh.

"Very funny, Delvin. You both better come out of this alive, or Mercer will have to answer to my blade."

"How intimidating, but no need to worry, we'll be back by sundown, Bryn. Hopefully, you won't miss me too much" chuckled Delvin.

They both got out of their seats as we headed out of The Ragged Flagon towards a door back into the cistern and then up a ladder that led up into Riften.

Brynjolf turned to me once we got to the ladder, "Good luck, lass. Make it out there alive, please, I'm down on my knees here" he said as he gave me a quick embrace.

"And you, Delvin" he said, turning to him, "Don't do anything stupid. I'm counting on you to get back here in one piece."

"Aw, don't I get a hug, Bryn?" he asked, holding out his arms.

Brynjolf rolled his eyes as he let out a chuckle.

"Alright, get going. I expect you to be here by nightfall."

"You're not our father, Bryn. Tone it down a bit before you scare the girl off" said Delvin, smiling.

"I'm an adult, thank you very much" I said, as I headed up the ladder past Delvin.

"Be careful, lass. I'm putting all my trust in you" Brynjolf whispered before I exited the cistern.

As we exited through Riften's graveyard, Delvin turned to me,

"Well?" he asked.

"Well what?" I replied in confusion.

He was shaking his head with a low chuckle, "where's the dragon?" he asked.

I paused before I realized my stupidity, "Oh yeah, right. It's north of Riften. All Mercer told me was that we needed to walk an hour north of here, and that we'll come up to some sort of dragon burial, whatever that looks like, and that the dragon will be there" I scoffed.

"That's it? That's all we have to find a damn dragon out in the middle of the wilderness? You'll be the death of me Mercer, I swear."

"Maybe that's what he wants…" I said in a whisper.

He looked back up at me in confusion, "Nothing" I said, smiling. "Let's go."

* * *

"Hey, Delvin…" I asked, as we were walking in the dense forests, well past Riften.

"Hmm?"

"Do you believe in myths?"

"Depends. What kind of myths?"

"Ones about dragons, and the stories that come with them…"

"Well, we _are_ heading off to go kill a dragon, right?" he said, chuckling.

"Yeah, and you seem oddly at ease about that. The chances of our survival are pretty slim here."

"It's all a part of the job. We can't seem weak in front of the guild, and especially in front of Mercer, I have a reputation you know," he said, smiling, "We have to take whatever crap Mercer throws our way."

I let out a groan, The things I hear about Mercer just keeps getting better and better. "So… what about Dragonborns? Have you ever heard anything about them?"

He stopped walking and looked up at me. _Crap. _

"I've heard a thing or two" he said before he continued walking.

I paused, what if he read the journal? Does that mean he knows I'm a Dragonborn?

I quickly caught back up to him, "What have you heard?" I asked, trying not to seem eager.

"That they can kill, using nothing but their voice. And that they can absorb a dragon's _entire soul._"

Is that even possible? "Wow."

"Yeah, I know right? But even _I _have to call bullshit when I see it."

"Why would you say that? I mean, it's possible, isn't it? The gods could bestow this power on anyone, right?"

"How about this; when I see a person tearing their enemy apart, with nothing but their voice, and absorbing a dragon's soul, then I'll believe it." He said as he stopped to look at me, smiling.

I paused, looking back at him, trying to see any indication in his eyes that he knew my secret.

"You really shouldn't go through my things, Delvin" I said, trying to keep a straight face.

"I couldn't help it, but no need to worry, your secret's safe with me" He said, winking, as he continued walking.

So he knows, the one secret I've been supposed to keep hidden, has been revealed, great.

I raced back up to him, "So, do you think I can really do it?" I asked in hesitation.

"We'll see, won't we?" He said, smiling.

I couldn't help but smile back. "Did you… tell Brynjolf?" I asked.

"Now would I mess up such a lovely relationship like yours?" He asked, chuckling.

"Hey, we don't have any sort of relationship, thank you very much." I said, beginning to blush.

"Mhmm" was all he mustered up through his smile.

"Shut up, Delvin." I said jokingly I punched him in his arm. "But thanks… for keeping my secret."

He smiled, "You owe me, _big time._ Brynjolf knows there's something you're not telling him. You better come clean sooner or later, before it gets out of hand."

I groaned, "Ugh, he always has to butt into my business…" I murmured, looking down on the ground as we walked.

"Don't pretend like you don't love it" he laughed.

I rolled my eyes as I felt my cheeks begin to blush again. "I'll tell him… eventually."

* * *

After walking for another 40 minutes, hearing stories about Delvin's days in the Thieves' Guild, I finally asked Delvin the question that was on my mind this entire time.

"What was the accident?"

He looked up at me, confused. "What accident?"

"Mercer said you had a 'misfortunate accident'. And that killing a dragon was your test, to see whether or not you're back up to par."

He scoffed, "Damn it Mercer… It wasn't an accident. I got myself caught up with some people who I shouldn't have, fell too deep, and got burned." He muttered.

"What do you mean?"

He paused, "do you know The Dark Brotherhood?" he asked, looking up at me.

"Vaguely, yes… why?" I paused, "You're an assassin?" I asked as in shock, unsure whether or not I should be running in the opposite direction.

"No, no" he chuckled, "I have a connection with them, and I got in too deep with their leader, Astrid." He explained, shaking his head.

"She's married too" he chuckled, "But, alas; all good things must come to an end. In my defense, I never knew she was committed to another man." He laughed silently.

"He caught on to us - her husband -, found I was with the thieves' guild, got my arse beat, which I hate to admit…" he paused, hanging his head down in shame. "I would have killed him, you know. But this damn guild prohibits murder" he smiled. "And then I needed time to recover from it all. I felt so ashamed for the guild, for myself… I couldn't believe I fell for a woman. A damn _woman," _he chuckled. "But I got over it, had a few drinks and woke up to some lovely ladies in my bed. It was beautiful" he laughed.

"I'm sorry, Delvin, I never knew…" I muttered, regretting I ever asked.

"No worries." He looked at me, smiling. "You would've found out sooner or later, better if you heard it from me."

* * *

I stayed silent for the rest of the trip, which was only another 5 minutes, when we spotted what looked to be like a large crater in the ground, with pillars around it.

"Whoa... Do you think that's what we're looking for?" I asked, looking up at Delvin.

"If it is a dragon burial, then where's the dragon?" he asked in confusion, looking back at me.

As he looked at me, his eyes widened, "By the gods…"

"What?" I turned around, and then I saw it in the distance; the body of a dragon.

We ran up to it to examine the remains, but stayed a good 20 feet away from it. It looked... alive, but dead at the same time... "Looks like someone beat us to it" said Delvin with a sigh of relief.

"No… something's not right here. I can feel it." I muttered, looking all around me for any sort of evidence to prove my theory.

And then, that's when we heard it. A dragon's roar that shook the ground below us, as it's shadow hovered over us, we looked up to see it coming down to land, right in front of where we were standing.

"Aela, get ready!" shouted Delvin, unsheathing his sword.

I was in utter awe. It was _huge. _I've never seen anything like it. I froze in place as the dragon landed only about 10 feet away from me.

_"Dovahkiin!" _it roared.

"Is it… talking to me?" I thought, as I heard Delvin charging at the dragon.

_"Dovahkiin, Saraan"_ it roared again, what, in oblivion, could it possibly be saying?

Seeing Delvin storming to him, the dragon turned to him, and shouted, letting out a blue aura _"Gol Ha Dov!"_

Suddenly, Delvin stopped and dropped his blade. "What the-"

"_Nahlot!" _roared the dragon, turning back to me. _"_Dovahkiin. Paak. Shame, you don't know understand your own tongue."

"You-You're talking to me?" I asked, stuttering.

"Geh. Yes. I come from Monahven, The Throat of the World, for you to hear my request."

Still in shock, I remained silent, unsure of how to respond to a dragon, who could burn me to a crisp right where I stand.

"You are a Dovahkiin, Dragonborn. I ask this of you: Travel, to Monahven, and learn the way of the Thu'um. The voice. For it is your initial power."

"I don't understand… who are you? How do you know that I'm Dragonborn?" I asked, still shaken by the conversation that I'm having.

"My name, is Paarthurnax. I have lived atop of the highest point in Skyrim for thousands of years. And only through complete meditation and concentration, have I been able to conquer my deepest and darkest desires. I have never stepped foot off of Monahven, but I am doing so now, to alert you, that your tiid, your time, is soon coming."

"As Dovahkiin, you must make the decision, whether to live your mortal life, pursuing your dez, fate. Or, to live in nahlot, silence, evading your purpose as Dovahkiin."

"My fate?"

"Yes. Your fate, to conquer Alduin, the world-eater." He paused, waiting for an answer, but I remained silent. To decide my fate, at this very moment, would be impossible.

"I need time to think all of this through…" I said, feeling tongue-tied by the idea that I'm actually talking to a dragon.

"It is understandable. When you have made your decision, come to Monahven, The Throat of the World. I will be waiting for you, Dovahkin. Do not disappoint us." And without another word, the dragon, Paarthurnax, flexed his wings, as he was about to take off, I shouted, "Wait! How did you know I would be here?"

"Since you were a child, I have been watching over you from Monahven, waiting for the day we would meet, and for you to decide you fate as Dragonborn" he roared.

"So, you killed that dragon over there?" I asked, pointing to the dead corpse in the distance.

"Yes. It was the only way I could speak to you without fear of any danger. It wasn't my first choice, but a last resort."

He then flew up high in the air, taking off into the horizon with a final roar.

I stood in silence, trying to comprehend what happened.

I then saw Delvin walking up to me from the corner of my eye as I turned to look at him.

"What in oblivion just happened? I couldn't move my body! Blasted dragon, why didn't you kill him?" he asked as I walked up to the dead dragon that was in the distance.

"He spoke to me, Delvin. He said that I have to decide my fate as a Dragonborn." I muttered, looking out into the horizon.

Then, all of a sudden, I saw an aura emitting from the dragon the laid on the ground in front of me, as I felt and saw it's soul being absorbed into my body, just like what Delvin said would happen. Then, it's scales, skin and wings slowly began to disintegrate into the air.

"By the gods, so you really are the Dragonborn…" he paused, staring at the dragon remains in awe. "What are you going to do?"

I remained silent, comprehending the idea that I just absorbed what seemed to be a dragon's soul... the proof that I really am what my father, and what the dragon, had said. "He wants me to go speak to him at the Throat of the World…" I said, looking back at Delvin, "to decide my fate."

He fell silent. After what felt like hours, just staring at the dragon remains, he finally spoke.

"Let's head back to Riften, it's getting dark. You'll need time to embrace all of this, Aela. You can't just decide whether or not you're going to listen to a dragon. He could be sending you to your death trap for all you know."

"I suppose you could be right… but he's the only one in Skyrim who can tell me what I really am, what my duty is as Dragonborn. I think I'm going to go see him… I need answers."

"I'm not going to stop you. But Bryn is bound to find out sooner or later. You really need to tell him all of this." he said, gesturing to the dragon bones.

Damn, I completely forgot about that. I suppose I could trust him enough to keep my secret, at least until I decide what to do…

"I'll tell him when the time comes. But you," I said, pointing my finger at him "better not even utter a single word to him, please. No jokes or hints or anything. I need to figure this all out before I tell anyone."

Delvin raised his hands up in front of him, as if admitting defeat, "Calm down" he said, smiling. "I can keep a secret, for a small cost of course." He said, attempting to bribe me.

"Not a chance, you already stole all the gems and gold I got from my raid the other day."

He chuckled, "Alright, alright. I couldn't help it though, they were just _begging_ to be taken" he replied with a grin.

I rolled my eyes, "You're lucky you're on my good side, Delvin" I said as I began heading back the other way.

"Come on, Brynjolf is going to have a hissy fit if we get back after dark." I shouted back to Delvin, trying to keep myself calm and collected from what I had just gone through, as I heard him catch up to me.


	9. A Night to Remember

**Special thanks to everyone who contributed to helping with all of this and to everyone who gave me feedback and helped me create this chapter :).**

* * *

As the gates came into our sights, we spotted Brynjolf waiting at the city's entrance.

"Remember, we found the dragon next to a stormcloaks camp. With their help, we killed it, but we were the only survivors, and that's it. Got it?" I stated to Delvin, running the story over in my head, making sure there were no flaws.

"Yeah, yeah. I Got it the first ten times." He answered with a chuckle, "you do realize Mercer's gonna know something's up, right? This story of yours is too damn good to be true."

"Well, I don't see you contributing to any of this" I scoffed.

"What about telling the _truth_?"

I rolled my eyes, "can you imagine what Mercer would do if he knew that I was Dragonborn, to know that I have the power to kill with my voice? I wouldn't trust that man with my damn sweetroll."

"I'm going to regret this…" he groaned.

"Aela? Delvin?" I heard Brynjolf yell from the gate.

"And not a word about it to Brynjolf either." I finished before I waved my hand at Brynjolf with a smile.

He ran up to us, "I can't believe your both alive… you actually made it. I was so worried..." he said as held me close me.

Delvin scoffed, "again with the hugging? I can't take it anymore!"

"Shut up, Delvin" I said jokingly as I rolled my eyes.

"So, how was it?" asked Brynjolf.

I looked up at Delvin, in hopes that he would tell the story we made up.

Reading my face, Delvin gave me a reassuring nod before turning back to Brynjolf. "Thank the gods" I thought to myself.

"I think Aela would love to tell you the story, Bryn" he said with a cheeky grin as he gave me a pat on the back. "I'm heading back to The Ragged Flagon for a drink, don't have too much fun without me" he laughed as I stared at him in shock. "_Damn you, Delvin!"_

As he walked away, Brynjolf turned to me, knowing that something was up. "What happened?" he asked.

"Well… when we got to the dragon burial, we found a stormcloak camp a good 50 feet away when the dragon came flying above us. With their help, we actually killed the dragon with ease." This sounded a lot better in my head.

"Now I'm not a religious man, but I must say, the divines were definitely on your side" he smiled.

My eyes widened, did he actually fall for it? No, he's a thief. He should be able to tell a lie from a mile away.

He then leaned in close to me, "do you really expect me to believe _that_?"

I looked down at my feet, realizing my stupidity. What was I thinking, lying to not only a thief, but the second in command of the Thieves' Guild? No wonder why Delvin bailed. He knew Brynjolf would tell my bluff.

"What are you hiding from me, lass?"

"I can't tell you. I know it sounds complicated, but I just can't. Not yet. Please, I just need you to understand, Brynjolf. I will tell you everything when the time comes" I said, still looking down at the ground.

He then lifted my chin as his eyes made contact with mine and leaned in close to me, "I understand, lass" he whispered as one of his hands wrapped around my waist and gave me a light kiss on my lips. I wrapped my arms around his neck, "Thank you, for understanding... I know how difficult it must be for you, but I need time, I'm sorry" I whispered.

"Take all the time you want, lass. I can wait" he smiled as he leaned in to give me another soft kiss. "This will only make it more difficult to tell him the truth about me." I thought to myself as I leaned my head against his chest.

"Let's head back to the cistern, Mercer's going to be suspicious."

I rolled my eyes, "must you bring him up _now_?" I asked with a small laugh.

* * *

As we headed past The Bee and Barb, I noticed someone preaching to the people in the city circle.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"Some preacher from Dawnguard. He's been here all day, going on about how vampires are on the rise, and that we need to keep an eye open for them." he said as he rolled his eyes.

My eyes widened, "maybe we should hear what he's got to say… you never know." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was he here because of me? Am I… a vampire? Is that what that monster was on the night of my parents' murder? This was all too much, but I have to know.

Brynjolf stopped to look at me, "you can't be serious, lass. You actually believe in vampires?"

"Why are you so sceptical about everything, Brynjolf?" I said jokingly as I walked up to the preacher.

"The vampires are wreaking havoc on all of Skyrim! You cannot trust anyone! Not your neighbours, not your own friends or family! Vampires have no remorse, no sympathy, no guilt, for who they feed on! Join the Dawnguard, the band of brothers and sisters, the vampire hunters!" He exclaimed.

"How do we know what a vampire looks like?" I shouted from the back of the crowd.

The preacher stopped to look at me and smiled, "Ah, a young woman interested in the hunt of the vampires, I see? Vampires have distinct features; their eyes are captivating, their skin burns in the sunlight, they will almost always don a hood out in public! They must feed to survive, whether that be on humans or on animals!"

My eyes widened, and I felt myself freeze in place. All my emotions fled from my face. "I'm one of them…" I whispered to myself. How could it be that this never occurred to me for the 8 years that I've been a monster?

"But, there is a cure!" the preacher continued, which snapped me out of thoughts. "Vampires who wish to reverse the curse are to head to Morthal and be cured by Falion! For those who wish to ignore this gift from the gods, you _will_ be hunted by the Dawnguard, and we _will_ kill on-sight! No mercy!"

I felt myself breathe a sigh of relief, "So there's a chance… I just need to get to Morthal." But with Mercer most likely to watch my every move, this will prove to be difficult.

I turned to my left, to see Brynjolf staring at me. He knew something was up, why wouldn't he? It was obvious.

"What?" I asked, trying to seem oblivious.

"Nothing." He smiled, "Come on, lass. It's getting late."

As we entered the cistern, I realized it was empty. Even Mercer was no where to be found. "Where is everyone?" I asked in confusion.

"At The Ragged Flagon, celebrating your victory" he smiled.

"I thought you said the guild wouldn't be welcoming me with open arms?"

"You really believed that?" he chuckled. "The guild members are a tough love sort-of group. They may not show it, but they are definitely taking a liking to you. Especially after your job with Delvin."

"I hope your right. Mercer definitely won't be happy with my return."

"Speaking of which…" he drifted off.

Confused, my eyes widened. "What?"

"I'm… concerned Mercer is up to something. Recently, he's been spending far too much time down in the cistern. And he's almost never down here."

"I don't think that's a reason to accuse him of anything, Brynjolf. He's probably here to keep an eye over me, being the newborn and all." I scoffed.

"Aye, I know, lass. But, there's more… He's been sending all of us on jobs that we've never done before. Interrogating contacts, spying on conversations, threatening potential hostiles… It's not what we do. We're thieves. We raid houses and pickpocket valuables."

"So then why don't you ask him what's up?"

He laughed at this, "It's Mercer we're talking about here. The most stubborn man I know, lass. He doesn't give up information that easily."

"So why don't we learn some information on our own?" I gave a sly smile.

"What were you thinking, exactly?" He asked with a glisten in his eyes.

"You said Mercer is almost never down in the cistern, so where does he spend most of his time?"

"If he's not planning anything with Maven Black-Briar, then he's usually in his house, here in Riften."

"So if we wanted information, we should snoop around his house." I said, gleaming.

He raised his eyebrows, "You want to break into the Guild Master's _home?_ Are you insane, lass?"

"How hard can it be really? We simply sneak in when he's down in the cistern, give the house a quick sweep for information, and head out before anyone knows we're gone" I answered. Would he actually agree to it? To break into his boss' house?

He paused and thought about it for a while. "Come on, Bryn. This is the guild we're talking about. Your family" I said, trying to convince him into agreeing to my plan.

"Fine," he smiled. "But the house is guarded by an orc 24/7. How do you expect to get passed him?"

"Who said I'm going to pass him? I know my ways in and out of windows. No need to be seen" I grinned.

"You? Who said you're going at this alone, lass?"

"Brynjolf, let's be honest. You're just going to slow me down" I let out a small laugh, "And besides, you need to stay here to watch Mercer and make sure he doesn't leave. He'll prove to be much more of a danger than some orc."

He rolled his eyes, "Trying to keep your father's promise is getting harder every day, lass." He groaned.

"So it's agreed? Good." I stated before he could argue any further. "I'll do it tomorrow after sunset, when Mercer will surely be here in the cistern." I said as I headed to The Ragged Flagon, hearing Brynjolf's groans as he caught up to me.

* * *

Brynjolf was right, all the guild members had welcomed me with open arms, well almost all of them. Vex and Tonilla, the only other two females in the guild, didn't take much of a liking to me. And of course, Mercer. But the Ragged Flagon seemed to be dancing with life.

It was the first time I saw any of the other guild members, and they were all drinking, dancing all frozen in the moment. It was so surreal. To know that the Thieves' Guild was falling apart, but that they were all still able to gather together as a family. In an odd way, it felt so comforting.

I tried avoiding Mercer for most of the night, but of course as soon as I stepped foot into The Ragged Flagon, he shot me daggers and evil glares, obviously upset with my successful return.

I looked around the room, trying to find Delvin so I can give him a piece of my mind. He was at the bar, drinking away, like usual.

I walked up to him and gave him a hard smack on the back, making it seem playful. "Hey, buddy." I said as I sat down next to him.

He chocked on his mead, "Oh, hello Aela" he said with a grin.

I leaned in close to his ear "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't spill your mead all over you after you bailed on me."

"Because," he whispered back as he smiled, "I know your little secret."

I rolled my eyes as I sat back in my chair, "As if I care."

"Really?" he asked rhetorically as he looked around the room, "Bryn, come on over here!" he yelled to him from across the room as he looked back at me with a grin on his face.

My eyes widened in shock as his grin grew wider. "What in oblivion are you doing?!" I yelled at him in a whisper.

"What is it, Delvin?" asked Brynjolf as he stood next to me.

"Just think we should toast to our safe return" he smiled.

"Damn you, Delvin…" I whispered to myself as Vekel handed Brynjolf and I a tankard of mead.

"A toast, to our successful return!" exclaimed Delvin, as all three of us banged our tankards together.

"Now that I have you attention, Bryn," said Delvin as he chugged down the rest of his mead, obviously drunk, "I think there's something Aela would like to tell you!" he grinned as he walked away, tripping over his own feet.

I groaned, "sorry about that, Brynjolf…" I said, looking down at my tankard.

"What was that about? What do you need to tell me?" he asked, confused.

"Nothing, he's just going rambling on about what I already told you, back outside of Riften."

"So, Delvin knows this secret of yours?" He asked as his eyebrows raised.

_Shit. _"Well, no not really…" I muttered, still looking down as I began fiddling with my tankard.

Without another word, Brynjolf turned around and walked up to Delvin, who was flirting with Vex, "Delvin, is there something I should know, lad?"

"By the gods, keep your mouth shut Delvin!" I said to him, trying not to bring too much attention to myself as I ran up to him.

"She never told you yet?" he mumbled drunkenly.

"She's.." Delvin paused, as if building up the tension, "The Dragonborn!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air as he chuckled and fell out of his chair.

The room fell silent. Brynjolf turned to look at me, as well as the rest of guild. _Gods kill me now._ What would happen now? Will I have to leave? Maybe they'll accept me for who I am… No, Mercer knows now. He's going to have to get rid of me, one way or another.

Brynjolf saw the fear in my eyes as he let out a smile, "Ha, nice one Delvin. Always cracking jokes, even when you're as drunk as an ass" he laughed as he picked him up off the ground, "Am I right, guys?"

The guild let out a burst of laughter as they got back to what they were doing. I walked up to Brynjolf, "thank you…" he didn't respond as he went back to take a seat at the bar. "Come on, Brynjolf. I was going to tell you" I said in a low voice, following him to the counter as I sat next to him.

"I know, lass. Just a shame I had to hear it from a drunk Delvin." He replied, staring down at his tankard, "and in front of the entire guild."

"I'm sorry, Bryn." I muttered.

"So what really happened today with Delvin?"

"A dragon came, and he spoke to me..." I paused, waiting for his reaction, but he was silent. "He said I had to decide my fate as Dragonborn, and that my time is going to come soon. He wants me to meet him at the Throat of The World."

He raised his eyebrows, "That must have been quite the show" he chuckled.

"You don't believe me?" I asked, looking up at him in dismay.

"No, I do, lass." He smiled, "So are you going to go meet him?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "I want to... But Mercer's been on my ass since I've been here. I doubt I'll be able to be out of his sight for an entire day to make the trek." I then remembered that the guild master was here in the flagon. Surely he, of all people, saw Delvin's little show.

I looked around the room, trying to spot Mercer.

There he was, sitting at a table across from me, with a sly grin on his face and hostility in his eyes. The one person, who I needed to keep the secret hidden from, now knows how to break me.

I glared back at him before I turned back to Brynjolf.

"He knows."

"Aye, I figured that much. He can't lay a finger on you though, lass. With the guild watching our backs now, even Mercer has his limits."

"I hope you're right." I said, looking down at my hands resting on the counter.

"My blade would sever his body in two before he laid a hand on you, lass" he smiled.

"Thanks" I let out a laugh as he leaned in to me.

"Your little laughs make my head spin" he chuckled as he lost his balance and fell out of his chair.

I could feel myself turn red as I rolled my eyes. "You really should slow down on the drinking."

"Now look who's ruining all the fun, lass!" he exclaimed as he sat back up in his seat, taking another gulp of mead.

* * *

The rest of the night consisted of several flirtatious attempts to Vex by Delvin, dozens more bottles of mead, and the ringing noises of laughter, music and drunken conversations. I awoke in my bed, the same one I had recovered in, to Mercer barking at me to wake up to do another one of his jobs from the cistern.

My head was spinning as I awoke with a heavy hangover. "Damn you, Mercer…" I said as I lifted my head, I felt a hand wrapped around my waist "What the…" I turned to see Brynjolf sleeping next to me in my bed What in oblivion happened last night… "At least my clothes are still on." I thought, laughing silently as I felt my head throbbing.

I stumbled out of bed and slowly made my way to the cistern and up to Mercer.

"What the hell do you want, Mercer?" I asked in annoyance.

"I have another job for you." He smiled.

I groaned, "Really? At this early in the morning? What is it?"

"You need to head to Morthal, and speak to a contact there."

"Sounds easy enough, what's the catch?"

"Our contact is in Morthal's prison. You need to find a way in, I don't care how, and break her out."

A thousand questions raced through my aching head, "How do you expect me to do that?"

"You're a thief, figure it out." He grinned.

"I thought you believed women are inferior to men, why a female contact?"

"That doesn't concern you. Your job isn't asking questions. Bring her back here to Riften, unharmed."

"Who is she? What does she look like?" I asked, rolling my eyes at his comment. "Just because you won't give away any information, doesn't mean this contact of yours won't either" I thought to myself as I smiled.

"Her name is Sapphire, you'll know who she is once you get there. Now go get the job done." He said, looking back down at his book on the desk.

Without another word, I turned around and began walking away.

"I'm watching you Dragonborn" he said, barely audible.

I turned around and slammed my hands on his desk, "Just because you're guild master doesn't mean you scare me. I'm here against my will, and I'd rather be dead than work under you. I know you're up to something, and when I find out what it is, I'll have your head mounted on a stick. No one here will miss you, Mercer." I glared my eyes as I turned back around and walked out of the cistern.

* * *

As I was in a carriage to Morthal, I realized the mistake I made back at the cistern. My blood was pumping with adrenaline; I was oblivious to my stupidity as I quarrelled with Mercer.

"I'm bound to get an earful once I head back" I sighed to myself, regretting what I had done.

"How much further?" I asked the driver.

"Couple more minutes!" he shouted back. I them remembered the preacher from Dawnguard, going on about how there was a cure here in Morthal for vampirism… At least I could tackle two situations at once. "And all thanks to you, Mercer." I smiled to myself.

The carriage then stopped, "We're here, now get outta my carriage! This place is going to make me freeze to death" he said as his teeth clattered together.

"Calm down, friend. I haven't paid you yet" I said with a grin as I tossed him a small coin pouch.

Morthal was another town with very minimal sunlight, which was one of my more preferred weather, again, all thanks to my lovely guild master.

I headed to the local inn. I needed to cure this vampirism of mine before I could tackle the bigger problem.

"Have you heard of a fellow named Falion?" I asked the innkeeper as I headed up the bar counter.

"Why does that concern you, outsider?"

I rolled my eyes, as I tossed him a coin purse, "Use your brain, what do _you_ think?" I groaned at how oblivious he was.

His eyes widened, "Oh… right. He's in the house next to the inn, to your left."

"You better watch who you ramble on about your… condition to. There are snitches here who'll have you hunted down, even if you're planning on curing yourself" he said As I turned around and walked out of the inn.

I headed to the house the innkeeper pointed me to, which was quite shabby, but by the looks of this town, so were the rest of the homes. I knocked on the door, and almost instantly, a male redguard answered, "Can I help you?"

"I heard you offered a cure for… vampirism?" I said, keeping my voice low.

He raised his eyebrows, "Where do you hear this nonsense? I know no such thing!" he exclaimed as he went to go shut the door.

I quickly stopped it with my hand, "Please, I need a cure. I heard the Dawnguard saying that I could be cured by you, you're the only one in Skyrim who can. I'll pay you for your troubles" I said in an attempt to bribe him.

He paused before he rolled his eyes, "Come inside and shut the door behind you."

I walked in as he went up to an arcane enchanter. "I'm still studying the affects and causes of vampirism, and my cures aren't always… successful. My cures only work on vamprisim that was contracted a certain way."

"What do you mean a certain way?"

"There are two ways you can contract the disease: First is through a sort of spell, cast by the vampire, and the second is through a bite, typically on the neck."

I felt the two bite marks on my neck with my hand, even though they have practically faded away since I was first bitten, I could still feel the markings. "I'm guessing your cure only works on the first one."

"Unfortunately, yes. But there is one other way to treat the disease by a bite. You need to find the vampire who bit you, and have them withdraw the blood from your system."

"That's beyond impossible" I groaned. "Can't I get any vampire to do it?"

"I'm afraid it's the only way, their venom was injected into your blood stream, and every vampire's venom is unique. It would be the only possibility."

I thanked the redguard, Falion, as I handed him a coin purse and exited the house.

Now that that's been taken care of, sort of… I need to find this contact. "The easiest possibility would be to simply have myself thrown in jail, and then break out…" I said to myself, anxious to attempt my first ever break-out.

I spotted the guardhouse, which housed Morthal's jail. It was quite small on the outside, which meant that breaking out would prove to be difficult. I took my lockpicks and hid them well beneath my clothes, which were really the only things that I needed to be successful on this mission.

"Now, what is the most minimal crime that I can do, that will get me thrown into jail?" I looked around, pick pocketing someone and getting myself caught would be too easy, "I want a challenge." I smiled, spotting a chicken on the path. "Perfect…" I noticed a guard who was a good 10 feet away from the chicken; he would surely spot my crime.

I walked up to the chicken, and gave it a swift kick in the arse. It jumped up in the air and began flapping its wings in an attempt to fly as it clucked wildly, its feathers rustling and falling off as it wailed, running around.

I smiled as I turned to look at the guard who shook his head and walked away. "You can't be serious…" I thought to myself as I walked up behind him. Looks like I'm going to have to resort to getting myself caught the old way. I crouched and sloppily placed my hand in the guard's back pockets, and took out a coin purse that weighed a good pound, which was bound to get his attention.

"Hey, you! Thief! What do you think you're doing?!" He yelled as he turned around, catching me red-handed.

Took you long enough. "Oh…I was just…"

"Silence!" he shouted as he snatched the coin purse back. "You've commited crimes against Skyrim and her people, what say you in your defense?!"

I laughed under my breath, "I submit. Take me to jail." I said as I raised my arms, surrendering.

As I was escorted into the jail, I realized there was only one cell, which would prove to be more difficult than I originally thought. The guards will be able to watch my every move.

In the cell was a female nord, who I'm guessing was Sapphire. The guard did a quick pat down of me, took my belongings and placed them in a chest. Thankfully, they didn't have my change into the standard jailhouse outfit. As I went to go sit down on a chair across from the nord, the guard lectured us to keep our mouths shut and to stay away from trouble as he left the room, leaving us to our selves.

"This is going to be too easy, come on Mercer." I thought to myself as I looked up at the nord.

"Sapphire?"

She looked up in confusion, "How do you know my name?"

"Mercer sent me."

She scoffed as she rolled her eyes, "Tell that bastard I'm not saying a single word."

I let out a sigh; this was going to be more difficult than I thought.

"Would you rather rot in prison for the rest of your life?"

"Possibly, yes."

"Stay calm, Aela. You can do this…" I thought to myself, trying to stay cool and collected.

"Listen, I know you're not crazy about Mercer, neither am I, or anyone else in our guild. But I just really need you to trust me, Sapphire."

"Trust _you_? A stranger? Over my dead body!"

"What will it take for you to agree?" I asked, rolling my eyes, attempting to compromise.

"Convince Mercer to keep me around after he's gotten whatever the hell he wants from me."

"You mean, to join the Thieves' Guild?"

"Yes. I have no where else to go if I leave this skeever-filled prison. It wouldn't be my first choice, but it looks like my decisions are running dry."

"Why in oblivion would you _want_ to join the guild? You're signing your life away to an asshole who thinks he's one below the gods, who wants that?!" I asked, shocked.

"Well, why did you join?" She gave a sly grin.

I scoffed, "It was all against my will, I had no other choice. It was either the guild, or death. And I'm starting to contemplate the second option. You hate Mercer anyways, would you _actually_ want him as your leader?"

She rolled her eyes, "I know that no one is crazy about him, you said so yourself. But I think I can handle his cockiness. Especially if it meant I had a place to live besides this filthy cell."

If this was the only way I could agree to get her to come with me back to Riften, then I have no other choice, although I'd love to see my attempt at bribing Mercer after my rant down at the cistern. "Fine."

"So how exactly do you expect to get us out? I've tried bribing these guards, and I have nothing that could be of any help to us, they confiscated all my things since I got here."

I revealed the lockpicks hidden under my arm sleeve with a smile, "We're going to break out."

* * *

**Note that I never played the Dawnguard DLC (PS3), so if I made a mistake in terms of how they function, then my bad x). I also made a few tweaks in terms of vampirism as well (but that's just my take on it). **

**As always, thanks for reading, and feedback is appreciated.**


	10. Vengeance

**a/n: Sorry about this long author's note, but I just wanted to clarify some questions in a PM and review I got regarding Aela's vampirism. **

**Regarding her never realizing she's a vampire, no one ever discussed the topic of vampirism around/with her, so there really was no way for her to find out, (thus never calling herself a vampire). It may seem like something obvious, but she never encountered any situations that would explain what she was until the Dawnguard came.**

**In terms of the sunlight, I also knew it would be an issue, but in Riften it's almost always cloudy and whatnot, and I felt like it may be a bit weird and repetitive if everytime Aela stepped foot in the sunlight that she would go on about how it burned at her skin (such as back in Whiterun, Falkreath etc.), however I did touch upon it every now and then to remind the readers. I was also supposed to give her a hood early on, but I never got around to it :3. **

**In terms of her blood cravings, I realized I left it out in the previous chapters (other than touching on her feeding on animals briefly), so I tackled that issue and any questions regarding her feeding in this chapter (hopefully). And I thought about having a conversation between her and Brynjolf about the cold hands aspect, but I never really considered someone's cold hands to be a big issue (If it is let me know and I'll put it in a later chapter :P). Alright, sorry about that, but I hope that cleared up some questions I got. **

**(Didn't expect to come out with this chapter so fast, but I was waiting for this one for a while now). **

**Note that there's more cursing in this chapter than any of my other ones.**

* * *

I took a quick glance around the room, making sure there were no guards present as I crouched in front of the cell door and began picking the lock.

After a few seconds of fiddling with the pick, the cell door unlocked with ease.

I quickly gathered my belongings in the chest and surely enough, Sapphire's equipment was in the chest as well, collecting dust.

"How long have you been in here for?" I asked, turning to her.

She scoffed, "Almost 5 months."

I raised my eyebrows as I pointed to the chest containing her belongings. She quickly took her things and headed for the front door. Before she could open it, I held on to her shoulder brace.

"What do you think you're doing? The front door, Sappihre? _Really?_" I said, rolling my eyes.

She paused, "Oh, right. It's been a while" she groaned to herself.

"There should be another way out of here…" I muttered, taking a look around the room.

"There's a door behind those barrels over there" I heard Sapphire say, pointing to a pile of rubble in the other end of the small room. We ran up to the barrels and quickly began moving them out of the way of the entrance, careful not to make to much noise.

Once the path was cleared, I tried fidgeted the door knob, but it refused to budged.

We heard shouting from outside the front door, "Yeah, yeah I'll check up on them, keep your tops on guys!"

"Damn, we don't have enough time to pick the lock, help me break the door down!" I whispered in a yell to Sapphire. With barged at the door with all our force. After a couple bashes against the door, if finally broke down. "Get out, go!" I yelled to Sapphire as we ran through the opening that led towards the back of Morthal. We ran as far away from the town as possible, in hopes that the heavy snowstorm would cover our bodies and tracks.

"Shh, get down! I whispered to Sapphire as we laid in the heavy snow.

I saw a vague shadow run past us by a few feet before it turned back.

"Damn it! I lost them!" I heard the voice shout as it headed back towards the town, barely audible in the storm.

"Give it a minute" I muttered to Sapphire, "in case they do another search."

Once the coast was clear, we ran down the road, trying to get as far away from Morthal as possible.

"I hope you don't expect us to walk the entire way back to Riften" scoffed Sapphire as we were walking down the path. We had covered at least two miles by now.

"I hope not. If we're lucky, we'll find someone to ride us back to The Rift." I said, remembering what I told Brynjolf about breaking into Mercer's house after sunset. "We need to get back before dark" I muttered.

After what seemed like hours of trekking in the snowstorm, it began to ease down as we spotted a carriage coming our way. "Praise the gods!" I exclaimed, waving my hands in the air, "Stop, please!" I shouted, as we ran up to the carriage.

"What are you doing out here?" Asked the driver, a dark elf in ragged clothing.

"We need to get to The Rift, do you know where we are?" I asked.

He laughed, "You're nearing DragonBridge. You'll be lucky to get to The Rift by nightfall if you use a carriage."

I heard Sapphire groan, "Is there any way you can take us?" I asked, revealing to him a hefty coin purse. He tried to seem unfazed by my bribe, but his eyes screamed envy and desire.

I gave him a cheeky smile, "Well?"

He snapped out of his thoughts, "Get in."

* * *

As we hopped off the carriage and I handed the driver the coin pouch, I saw the sun set into the horizon, perfect timing. As we walked through the graveyard towards the secret entrance, I turned to Sapphire, wanting to weed out any information from her that I could.

"Why did Mercer want me to bring you back here? How do you know him?" I asked.

She paused before she answered, "I had connections with people here in Riften, and pretty much all over Skyrim and Tamriel. My contacts here in Riften were also connected to Mercer and Maven Black-Briar. I found some information I shouldn't have," she let out a laugh,

"And Mercer wanted me taken care of. He didn't want me dead, he just needed me to be quiet. He knew I would be too valuable alive rather than dead, even though he may not admit it" She scoffed.

I raised my eyebrows, "What information?"

"I think you should ask Mercer yourself. And before you flash me one of your coin purses, know that no amount of gold can make me talk."

"Oh come on, just a little bit of info won't hurt anyone, I won't tell Mercer" I said with a cocky smile.

She rolled her eyes, "Let's just say that we won't be around for long. Now come on, I want to see this infamous guild of yours."

What does she mean we won't be here for long? Is Mercer plotting _against_ the guild? That's insane, why would anyone do that? Even Mercer is smarter than that. I'd have to let Brynjolf in on all of this, he'd probably make more sense of this than me.

"Alright, let's go." I said as we went through the entrance behind the graveyard.

* * *

We walked into the cistern, and without a doubt, Mercer was standing behind his desk, with his nose in that damned book.

"Mercer, we're here." I exclaimed to him, trying to get on his good side, in hopes he's forget the conversation we had this morning. _Yeah, right. _

He looked up at us, "Ah, Sapphire. I thought I'd never see you again."

She rolled her eyes, "Just tell me what you want from me, Mercer."

He turned to look at me, "Some privacy, Aela." He said, scowling at me.

"Right. Well, I'll be on my way." I said, walking past them.

She grabbed my arm, "Don't forget the deal" She whispered.

I nodded to her without saying another word as I headed into the Flagon.

I spotted Brynjolf at the table across from me. "Hey" I smiled as I walked up to him, sitting next to him.

"Another successful job, I see" he said, returning my smile.

I leaned in close to his ear, "I'm going to go raid Mercer's house for any information I can find. Make sure you keep an eye on him while I'm gone. No need to make this job sloppy, Bryn."

"Aye, well be careful, lass. His house is right behind the graveyard. You'll know it when you see it, it's the only one with an orc standing guard." He chuckled.

As I was about to stand up, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned my head to see Delvin, shame engulfing him.

"I think we need to talk about the other night, Aela" he muttered as he sat down next to us.

"Bryn filled me in on what happened last night" he said, looking at me, "Even though I wish he hadn't. I'm sorry about blowing your cover."

I rolled my eyes as I turned to look at Brynjolf.

"Delvin _never_ apologizes, lass. I say you take it and run before he takes it back." He laughed, "Besides, only Mercer knows, and I'm not _too_ worried about him right now."

"Well, I have to admit," I said, turning back to Delvin, "Watching your failed attempts at flirting with Vex was well worth it" I laughed.

"It wasn't a complete failure" He winked as he stood up and headed to the bar, ordering a tankard of mead.

"That was quite disturbing." I said, shaking my head as I stood up.

"Aye, but I must say, our night was rather enjoyable, wouldn't you say so, lass?" He asked, with a smug smile on his face.

I felt my face blush, "Very funny, Brynjolf. I may have no recollection of last night, but I was happy enough waking up in my clothes."

He laughed to himself; gods know what happened that night. "Come on, I'll take you to the exit." He said, getting out of his seat.

* * *

As we walked past the cistern, I spotted Mercer speaking to Sapphire at the other end of the room, oblivious to our presence.

"Did you get anything out of her?" Asked Brynjolf, following my eyes to where they were.

"Not really. Just that she said we won't be here for long." I paused, looking up at Brynjolf, "Do you have any idea what she's talking about?"

He shook his head, "I wish I did. I'm just as confused as you are."

"Well, hopefully this raid will be worth it." I muttered, walking to the exit in silence, within the shadows and out of Mercer's sight.

I turned to look at Brynjolf before I headed up the ladder.

"Well… wish me luck." I said, smiling.

Suddenly, Brynjolf took me and put me against the wall, "Is this a regular thing of yours?" I asked sarcastically.

"Be careful" he smiled back as he leaned in and kissed me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"If Mercer found out about you, he'd have us both dead" he whispered as he kissed me again. "Good luck, I'm putting all my faith in you, lass." He said before he took a step back.

"No need to worry Bryn, this is practically second nature to me." I said with a smug smile. "So what should I look for?"

"Anything that seems like it'll explain what he's up to: Letters, documents, notes, books; anything."

"Easy enough. Watch my back while I'm gone." I smiled as I went on my tiptoes and gave him one last kiss, "I'll be back soon."

* * *

Surely enough, Mercer's house stuck out like a sore thumb. I spotted the orc Brynjolf told me about, who was sleeping on the ground in front of the main doors. "This is far too easy…" I smiled to myself. I took a quick look around the house for easy access points. I found a window on the first floor that seemed easy to budge and was out of sight of any of the guard's routes.

I tried fidgeting the window in hopes that it would open, but to no avail. I then spotted a small lock on the bottom of the frame, "You can't be serious, Mercer. Your _windows_? What could you possibly be hiding in here…" I smiled as my curiosity got the better of me again.

I took out a lockpick and attempted to pick the lock. It was more stubborn than the other locks I've come across, but it eventually gave up as it let out that satisfying _click. _I rolled the window up and silently made my way through the small opening.

For a guild master, Mercer's home was nothing extravagant. Nothing but wardrobes, desks, shelves and dressers occupied the first floor. I quickly rummaged through every drawer and door, but came across nothing other than odds and ends.

I headed up the stairs to the second floor, which was nothing but a bedroom. Again, I went through the same procedure as I did downstairs, not finding anything useful.

"You're a thief, Mercer. Shouldn't you have a safe somewhere at least?" I said to myself. I was about to give up when I noticed a wardrobe hidden in a nook of his bedroom. As I prayed to the gods, I opened the doors, but it was empty.

"An empty wardrobe is far too obvious." I said, laughing silently as I tapped the back wall of the wardrobe. It made a hollow sound, which was always promising. I placed my hands on the false wall and pushed with all my force. Slowly, the back wall opened, revealing a staircase that led down the stairs.

I slowly made my way across the hidden entrance, watching my steps for any traps. Eventually I came to a small room, with a desk and bed. There was nothing on the desk besides a couple papers and a book.

I opened up the first paper, which was a letter.

_Mercer,_

_I hope you make the right decision on whether or not to transfer to Morrowind. I want my name and the Thieves' Guild to expand into the neighbouring region. Although you've proven the guild to be an utter failure over the last few years, I am giving you one last chance. You had been in charge of The Thieves' Guild in both its glory days and its dark days. _

_I wish for you to put your skills and methods to good use. Should you accept my offer, I will have Brynjolf take over the guild here in Riften, until it dies off. Do not utter a word of this to a single soul. If anyone finds out, take care of them, by any means necessary. _

_Maven Black-Briar_

So Mercer's going to leave the guild, but why all the contacts we've been having to take care of? Sapphire must surely be able to explain. I quickly flipped through the book, in hopes of finding any loose papers, but came up to nothing. Finally, I opened up the last paper on the desk, which had rippings and markings all over it, making it seem like it was dated to several years back, at least.

_Rorik, _

_I entrust that the 5000 gold I have enclosed within this letter will be enough your troubles. _

Rorik… why does that name sound so familiar?

_I want them taken care of. I don't care how you do it, nor do I want to know how you attempt on executing your plan. A snitch informed me that Mattais will be taking a trip with his wife and daughter to Falkreath's border, most likely somewhere in the dense forest, a week from now. He has proven to be quite the problem for me, and Gallus is too idiotic to realize any of it. Kill Mattais and his family, and I will offer you a spot working for me, away from your aggravating group of bandits, and into the life you have always dreamed of._

_Mercer Frey_

I read the lines over and over again, feeling my blood race through my body as I began losing control of myself.

I felt myself shake as I tried to control my anger. I quickly took the letters and placed them in my bag as I ran back through the house and to the front doors, remembering the orc asleep outside. _Rorik…_ I burst the doors open as the orc's body flung forwards onto the grass.

"What the fuck?!" I heard him yell as he looked up at me. Before he could reach for his greatsword, I unsheathed my blade and placed my foot on his neck, pressing down hard.

"Remember me, you bastard?!" I yelled, bringing my face close to his as I placed my blade against his neck, slowly cutting in to his thick skin, savouring the feeling of it piercing through.

"Get off of me, you damn bitch!" He screamed, trying to place his hands around my throat. I quickly took his hands and slammed them on the ground with one arm as I kept my blade on his neck.

I stared into my parents' murderer's eyes, "Remember when you killed my father? Did you enjoy having your sword dig deep across his back, before he died, protecting my mother and I?"

He was choking on his own words, "Fuck... you!" He said, barely audible under the sound of him choking on his blood.

"I'm going to enjoy this as much as you did, you son of a bitch!" I yelled, as I started digging deeper into his neck, his blood slowly starting to pour onto my blade.

Suddenly, the conversation with Falion took over my mind, remembering the cure for vampirism.

I slowly wedged my dagger out of his skin, making sure he'd feel every stroke of my blade before it left his neck.

"Where's the vampire?!"

"Die, you bitch!" He yelled as he kicked me off of him and went for his greatsword.

I lunged forward at him, tackling him back to the ground, placing my dagger right above his bloody neck, "The one that bit me, where is she?!"

"I killed that bitch after she took care of you in the forest!" he coughed, "Remember that? I loved watching your parents' bodies fall to the ground, and how much I would have wanted to have my sword pierce your pathetic, puny heart!"

I began sliding my blade into the wound on his neck as he screamed, "You liar! Where is she?!" I shouted.

"Sh-She's at Dawnstar, Mercer was supposed to meet her there tomorrow!" He yelled, gasping for air.

I slid my dagger deeper into his wound, as my lust for his blood grew stronger, "I _really_ am going to enjoy this, you bastard!" I yelled again, my dagger piercing and digging through his thick skin, drenching it in blood as he let out his last cry.

I took my dagger out of his neck and began stabbing his body; at his heart, his face, his arms, his legs. I was puncturing and slashing anywhere I could draw blood from, as I felt my body begin to grow more and more lustful for the thick blood.

I threw my dagger on the ground. Catching my breath, I stared into the dead eyes of the bastard, the eyes of my parents' murderer, now my first kill.

I placed my fingers on his neck, pushing against the cuts as his blood coated my fingers. I then felt my body being taken over again, as I fell forward and dug my teeth into his neck, piercing into the skin as I felt fangs penetrate and suck at the blood.

As I felt the blood trickle down my throat and into my fangs, I felt my adrenaline rush as the invigorating sensation filled my whole body.

My mind went back to the nights where I would black out and hunt down the animals that I would feed on obliviously, waking up the next day, unaware of what I had undertaken the night before. But this sensation, it was so different. The blood of a person seems so much more tasteful than that of an animal's… I wonder what Mercer's blood would taste like on my lips, dripping from my fangs, as he begs for mercy.

I slowly got up off the ground and took my dagger. I ran past the graveyard, ready to pierce that bastard's heart with my blade. I hopped down the ladder in The Flagon shouting and cursing, "I'm going to fucking kill you Mercer, you hear me you son of a bitch?! You're dead you bastard!"

* * *

**I just love cliffhangers, don't you? My first kill scene, I don't really know whether or not I like the way it turned out. **

**Again, feedback is greatly appreciated & thanks for reading :)**


	11. Dark Desires & Irresistible Powers

**I hate how long it took to come out with this chapter, but I had to read over it a dozen times to get it right, and also needed a beta. Unfortunately, chapter 12 is also going to take a while to come out - one week tops -. I have so much crap to do for uni., so I'm going to try my best to write it this week as well.**

**A very special thanks to ghostanimal for betaing this chapter, & to SkywardDiamond for helping me with betaing my action sequences and grammar.**

***Note: Thieves Guild Spoiler in this chapter.***

* * *

"Where are you, you bastard!" I shouted to Mercer as I ran into the Flagon, dagger in hand, ready to strike. But before I could take a couple steps in, I felt hands wrap around me from behind, locking me in my place.

"I'm going to kill you, you murderer!" I screamed, lashing my blde around behind me, in hopes of making a cut on whoever was holding me captive. Before it could make a mark, another hand stopped me, forcing the dagger to drop to the ground.

"What in oblivion happened to you, lass!" I heard the voice behind me bellow.

"Let go of me! Where is he? Where's Mercer?" I shouted, trying to shove Brynjolf away from me.

"You're covered in blood! Calm down Aela, he's gone, he left!" I heard another voice as I turned my head to see Rune; a tall imperial towering over me, panic stricken.

"What do you mean gone? Where?" I asked, shaking in anger.

"He just left, didn't tell anyone where," I heard Delvin exclaim from behind me.

"He's been cheating the guild, he killed my parents, and he needs to pay!"

"Calm down, lass. You're drenched in blood, what happened?" Brynjolf asked, easing on his grasp.

"Let go of me!" I shouted, breaking from his grip as I turned to look at him.

I could see the horror in his eyes - in everyone's eyes as I looked around me.

I picked up my crimson coated dagger as I looked back up at him, "Just… leave me alone, please." I muttered, making a split-second decision as I ran back past them and back up the ladder.

* * *

I ran for what seemed like hours outside of Riften. I had no destination; I had no thoughts in my mind other than to kill Mercer. _He left. Where? To Dawnstar - already?_

I kept walking in the moonlight, hoping that my bloodlust, my craving for him, would fade away, but to no avail. The sensation to kill consumed my mind and my body. An animal wouldn't satisfy my need, only a human… but I can't do it - to kill an innocent stranger for my selfish desires?_ I really am a monster._

On the horizon, I saw what looked to be a small camp. _Stormcloaks, maybe?_ No, it's too small to be a Stormcloaks hideout. It's something else. I could hear laughs, and tankards clashing, reminiscing about their latest kills amongst one another. Bandits.

_Bandits aren't innocent. _I smiled to myself as I snuck up to the camp.

I hid behind a rock that was a good thirty feet away from the camp, thinking of a way to strike. The thought of my teeth sinking deep into their necks consuming me.

"What do you think you're doing?" I heard a low voice as I turned around, making out a figure leaning against a tree.

"Sapphire? Get out of here! What are you doing here?" I whispered in a shout to her.

She walked up to me, careless as to whether or not the drunken bandits caught sight of her.

"Brynjolf sent me. He's worried about you, Aela," she said as she got closer, her eyes shifting from sympathy to nervousness, taking in my gruesome image.

"What… what happened to you?" she asked, her eyes widening. "You're eyes… you're covered in…" she felt my shoulder brace, "blood."

I looked down, "You won't understand. Go tell Brynjolf I'm fine, I just need to let out some steam." I muttered, feeling my fangs dig deeper inside of my mouth, piercing my gums, blood lightly coating my tongue, the desire to feed engulfing me.

She paused, unsure of what to say. "I'm not leaving here without you. Now are you going to tell me what in oblivion all of this is," she said, gesturing to me, "Or I'm going to have to knock you out and carry you back to the guild."

Could I trust her enough? I've barely known her for a day, but she seems to be the only female around here who isn't out to get me.

I paused, looking down at the ground before I looked back up at her. "When I was young, I was bitten… by a vampire. I never knew what I was, until now." I paused, "The Dawnguard are here, Sapphire. They're hunting us down, and it's only a matter of time. There's no cure. My only way out is to stay in hiding for as long as possible, until they leave, or until they catch me."

She was taken aback, but kept her voice unfazed. "We can figure something out-"

"No," I said, cutting her off. "There's no way out of this, we both know that. And right now, my bloodlust is growing," I continued, hoping she'd catch my drift.

She paused, looking towards the bandit camp then back to us. "Oh. Well, do whatever you want. I've had my fair share of bandit killings." She scoffed. "Get back to the guild. I tracked you down once, I can do it again, you hear me?"

I nodded my head, but before she could turn to leave, I grabbed onto her shoulder.

"When you said we won't be around for long, back when I saved you in Morthal, was it because," I paused, finding difficulty in uttering that bastard's name, "… Mercer was plotting something against us? Before he would leave for Morrowind?"

Her eyebrows rose, "How did you know that?" she asked, puzzled.

I handed her the two letters, "Go show these to Brynjolf, hopefully it'll clear up some of the confusion."

I continued, "I think Mercer's in Dawnstar. After I went snooping through his house, I had a run-in with his guard." I paused, reminders of his blood trickling down my throat engulfing me, "He said Mercer is going to be heading there to meet with a contact, the vampire who bit me… It may be our only chance at finding him before he heads for Morrowind – if that's where he plans on going."

She seemed a little confused but nodded her head, "I'll let Brynjolf know." She took the letters and placed them in her pockets. "Get back safe," she said as she turned around, walking away.

"How'd you find me?" I asked, unsure whether or not she'd hear me.

She turned her head to look at me, "The blood trail on the ground was a dead giveaway." She muttered before she disappeared into the darkness.

I let out a sigh before I turned back to my main objective. _She took that easier than I thought._

I made a quick scan over the camp. There were only three bandits, one of which was asleep under a small makeshift tent far away from the other two, and was my closest target. I snuck up behind him, my dagger unsheathed, as my tongue circled my fangs, ready to strike.

I muffled my hand over his mouth and slit his neck with one swift movement of my blade. My eyes grew as the blood seeped out of the wound, a smile gleaming across my face. My teeth were digging deep into my lips, pleading to taste, but I would first have to take care of the other two.

When I was younger, I would watch how my parents would fling daggers in the direction of their prey, and how deadly a single throw can be. I never tried it out more than a few times in the nights I would hunt. But I prayed to the gods now as I held my dagger by the tip. I straightened it out in alliance with one of the bandit's bare neck, flinging it forward.

I watched it twirl in the air in awe before the tip of the blade pierced his neck. I smiled in satisfaction, blood welling up around the wound.

As he fell to the ground, I quickly ran up to him.

I clasped my hand around the dagger and ripped it out of his skin as the other bandit unsheathed his warhammer. He began thrashing it from side-to-side as he came closer and closer to me. I jumped back, barely missing one of his hits. When he attempted to strike me a second time, I crouched down low, missing his hit.

Watching as the warhammer twisted his arms, I quickly got up, pierced the side of his neck with my dagger, I dug deep into his skin. I pulled it back out as he screamed in pain, falling to the ground.

I took a deep breath as I looked all around me, a smile dancing across my face at what I had just committed. Bending down to the body lying at my feet, I punctured his neck with my fangs, gratifying my craving for his blood. After I had fed on the other two wretched corpses, I ran as far away from the camp as possible, trying to mute out my continuing and growing desire to kill.

* * *

After sprinting for what felt like hours, I eventually came across the river that flowed outside of Riften. _I'd need to clean myself up if I plan on heading back to the city._

I splashed water on my face and cleaned off whatever blood stains I could off my armor and dagger, the strong stench still thick in the air.

I sat at the edge of the water in silence, thinking of what will happen when I have to face the guild again… to have to face Brynjolf again. He'd be so disappointed…

I could feel myself grow stronger as I continued to try to calm myself down. The need to hunt was still running through my veins. I know this lust won't fade away until Mercer is dead. No matter how many people I slaughter and feed on, it won't be enough until I have the bastard down on his knees, begging for mercy.

After a few minutes, I got back up on my feet, patting the dirt off my hands. As I turned around, I saw Brynjolf sitting across from me, his back leaning against a tree, his eyes glistening with pain and ache.

"How long have you been there for?" I asked, standing still.

"Long enough, lass," I heard him say in the darkness as he got up off the ground, still leaning against the tree.

"Sapphire told me everything. We're going to track Mercer down. Whether it be in Dawnstar or in Morrowind. He's going to pay, lass; for what he's done to you, and to the guild." He proclaimed, clenching his fists with all his might.

"How can you be so sure of all of this?"

"Because I made a promise to your father" he smiled, which seemed to ease his grip. "Delvin's actually worried about you. And so is everyone else. You need to come back home."

"I'm going after Mercer, and once he's taken care of, I'll see about coming back to the guild. He is supposed to be at Dawnstar tomorrow, according to his guard. We should ambush him there if we can."

"Aye, Sapphire notified me about that. But you never know if his guard was telling the truth or not, lass. But if you plan on trekking that far out to see Mercer, then me, Delvin and Vex are going to have to tag along, they'd never forgive me." He smiled.

I paused, taking what Brynjolf said into consideration. Having to make the trek that far out to Dawnstar all because of an ex-bandit's claim doesn't seem too promising, but I have no other choice. And if the vampire that bit me is there as well... then she can cure me.

But do I _want_ to be cured? All of the fighting and killing I had done in the past few hours wasn't simply due to my skill. My vampirism truly makes me more powerful and stronger. And with the power and blood of the Dragonborn, I'm initially unstoppable.

I smiled to myself at the thought, "He's meeting someone there, Bryn. And I can't believe I'm going to say this, but whether or not Mercer's going to be at Dawnstar isn't my main priority right now. We're going to get to him sooner or later, it's just a matter of time."

He seemed confused, "Then what is your main priority, lass?"

I looked deep into his eyes, and my thoughts became cluttered and hazy. Did Sapphire not tell him about my vampirism? He seems so oddly at ease with all of this…

"That doesn't concern you just yet." I said, more coldly than I had wanted, "What did Sapphire say to you?"

He paused, baffled by my reply, "She gave me a couple letters, explaining that Mercer had betrayed you and us, and that he'll be heading to Morrowind. Nothing we haven't brought up yet."

I raised a brow, "Nothing else?"

He walked up closer – even in the moonlight, it was hard to see his face in the dark.

"No… Your eyes, lass…" he muttered, touching the side of my face. "What happened to you?"

I paused, looking down. "I killed him, Bryn… His guard, the Orc back at the house. It felt so wrong, but it felt right…" I muttered, reminiscing of the memory of my dagger digging deep into this throat. His blood dripping down the blade…

We fell silent for what seemed like hours, he then came up close to me and wrapped his arms around me.

"It's alright, lass" he said with a sigh. I rested my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes as my lips parted, and my fangs slowly came out, making contact with his neck. My eyes flew open and I pushed him away before I could go any further.

"I'm leaving for Dawnstar at sunrise, if you want to come, then be ready." I muttered, looking down, avoiding his eyes. _What the hell is wrong with you!_ I shouted to myself in silence.

He lifted my chin, "What are you hiding from me?" he asked.

"It's just…"

"Complicated, I know." He muttered as he leaned in to hug me again, gently stroking my hair. "I'm so sorry for what Mercer's done…" he paused, grinding his teeth at the sound of his name. He squeezed me tighter, whispering, "But I promise you, he's going to pay."

I remained quiet, letting the silence engulf us. In all of the chaos and misery that had ensued today, at this moment, I felt nothing but pure bliss. I was so at peace, but knowing that this wasn't going to last is what hurt. To know that, sooner or later, he would find out how much of a monster I am.

As if being Dragonborn, supposed protector of Skyrim, wasn't hard enough. How could I be a protector if I'm such a monster and a danger? Do I really want to give up this power I have, just to protect a region that will eventually perish, whether it be now or in a hundred years?

One way or another, Brynjolf is going to find out the truth; about my vampirism. And when he does, the life that I've worked so hard to build will be shattered, no matter what path I choose to go down.

I looked up at him in silence, hoping to hear his soothing words.

"Come, lass. It's been a rough day. For us, and the guild," He whispered, kissing my forehead. He sat us down against the tree he was leaning on, resting my head on his shoulder.

I fought hard to dominate my bloodlust as I felt my eyes grow heavy, looking up at him. "I don't know how you do it," I muttered. I leaned in to kiss him, my lips moving against his, not caring about my body begging for the crimson fluid.

He slowly broke away from me, a smile forming across his face, "Do what?"

"That. How you can be in such control of someone who is _obviously _more powerful than you." I said jokingly, returning his smile.

"_Really?"_ He asked sarcastically.

"Well, I am The Dragonborn after all," I answered, full of pride, trying to avoid the desire that continued to grow inside of me.

"You're not much different than when I first saw you at The Bee and Barb. You're still the same person as when I first met you. It's merely a _title_, lass. Don't let it get to your head." He laughed.

I rolled my eyes, "Just wait until I actually learn what I can do with my power, Bryn." I said as I leaned my head back against his shoulder.

_Still the same person…_ Would his deliberation of me change once my true form is revealed? I prayed in silence to the gods, in hopes that I was wrong, wrong about everything. That maybe Brynjolf _would_ understand, that his thoughts of me _won't _change, and that I _can _continue to live the life I _want_ to live.

But If I could be in control of deciding fate, why do I have no clue as to what will happen in the future? It's all merely a blur, and I can only hope for the best.

"You're going to have to open up to me sooner or later, lass." He whispered, stroking cheek.

"It's only a matter of time, Bryn." I whispered back, drifting deep into my sleep.

* * *

I awoke to the sounds of carriages driving back and forth on the neighboring road. I found myself lying on the grass, under the same tree from last night. I lifted my head off the cold ground to see Brynjolf fast asleep next to me.

I slowly slipped his arm off my waist as I got off the ground, as not to wake him.

I knew Mercer won't be at Dawnstar; the chances that the Orc _was _telling the truth was pretty slim. But I had a feeling that the vampire from the night of my parents' murder will be there. Evn though I wasn't sure about wanting myself cured, I still wanted to go show her a piece of my mind. And I didn't need anyone from the guild to be there when I did.

I took my bag off the ground and headed to the border of Riften in search of a carriage. But of course, not even five steps in, I heard Brynjolf laughing from behind me.

"Where do you think you're going, lass?"

I shook my head as I turned to face him, "To Dawnstar," I said, smiling.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you? Get back here. You know you're not going without me," he grinned.

I rolled my eyes, "Hurry up. It's well past sunrise."

"Not my fault we slept in," he laughed, winking at me.

I blushed as I turned away from him and up at the sky, realizing the sun was high up in the air, and with not a cloud insight, but my skin wasn't burning or aching.

I stood there, dazed and confused, staring at my hands. "That's odd…" I whispered to myself, remembering the feeding fest I had encountered last night. Does feeding on humans make me invulnerable to sunlight?

"What's odd?" I heard him ask from behind me.

"Oh, nothing," I smiled as I began walking, "Let's go get Delvin and Vex."

* * *

I refused to enter the Flagon, because I knew what would happen the minute I stepped foot there. We all walked to and rode the carriage to Dawnstar without uttering a word, the silence engulfing us from the awkward night before.

"Who's Karliah?" I asked in an attempt to break the silence, remembering the conversation I had with Brynjolf a few days back.

All their eyes widened as Vex scoffed at my question, Delvin pretended to look for something in his bag, and Brynjolf stared at me in silence.

After a long pause, I asked again. "Well, who is she?"

"She betrayed the guild, back when Gallus was still alive and was our guild master. She killed him, then ran off, never to be seen or heard from again," Vex replied, looking out into the forest behind us.

"How long ago was this?" I asked in shock.

"Seven or eight years, I lost count," She muttered.

"Eight," I heard Delvin mumble, still fumbling through his bag.

"And no one's heard of her since?"

"No, she's been off the grid since she betrayed us. First Karliah, now Mercer…" Muttered Brynjolf, shaking his head.

"And the second she shows her face, we'll be coming after her," announced Vex, digging her dagger deep into the carriage.

"Why –"

"I think it's _my_ turn to ask the questions" said Vex, cutting me off.

"What in oblivion happened to you last night? Everyone was going on about how you were covered in blood, raging against everybody and flailing your arms around. What the hell was all that about?" she continued as she sat up, waiting for an explanation.

I raised my eyebrows as I thought up a quick cover-up to my murderous rampage. "Mercer betrayed the guild. Wouldn't you be in the same state I was last night, if not worse?"

"You may be a part of the guild, but you're not one of the _family_. Not yet." She glared, leaning back against the carriage, folding her arms.

I heard Brynjolf let out a groan, "At least I found out about Mercer's deception! If it wasn't for me you'd still be down at his feet, falling for all the lies and crap he's been feeding you for the past gods know how many years!" I exclaimed, glaring at her.

"Watch your tone, you hear me? You may be Brynjolf's little protégée, but I can still tear you to pieces," she glowered.

"Calm down Vex. We're all heated about what Mercer's done, but we can't let that throw us off" exclaimed Brynjolf, in an effort to end the dispute.

I shook my head and leaned back against the carriage.

"Speaking of the guild," I heard Delvin say, "I was supposed to give this to you when you got back from your little mission last night. But you barged in and out of the guild before I could give you it." He handed me a small bag.

"What's in it?" I asked, examining it.

"It's your official armour." He smiled, "Tonilia had it made for you, so you can distinguish yourself as one of us." He said with a hint of pride.

"Thanks Delvin" I smiled back, opening up the bag. Besides the difference in color from the three other thieves' armour, the outfit was identical. _I'm officially a part of the family… _I thought to myself, smiling as I ran my hand over the leather.

* * *

We continued the rest of the trip in silence, the driver breaking the tension once we reached our destination.

"We're at Dawnstar, all of you out!" he shouted back to us, barely audible over the snow storm.

We jumped off, paid him for his duties and looked all around us.

"Now what?" asked Delvin.

They all turned to look at me, "How am I supposed to know?" I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"We should ask around about Mercer, keep an eye out for him and for his contact," announced Brynjolf.

"How do we know what this acquaintance of his looks like?" Delvin asked.

We all paused before I looked up at Delvin, "She's a vampire. She'll stand out from the crowd."

They all stared at me, their eyebrows raised. "Well then, that'll be easy, I hope…" Delvin muttered, trailing off.

The sun was falling well below the horizon, "We need to hurry, and chances are Mercer's already left, but his contact may still be here, she may even live here," I said, walking into the small town.

"Aye, we should try the inn," said Brynjolf.

As we walked up to the local inn, I looked all around me, trying to spot something familiar, but it was empty. "Something's not right here…" I whispered to myself as I took notice of a woman far out past the town, her dark figure standing out in front of the snowy backdrop - even in the snowstorm - feeding on what looked like to be a human.

"I think we found our contact…" I muttered, pointing towards her.

* * *

**a/n: I had to change the time when Gallus died in order for the time frame to be right in terms of Aela's age and whatnot in order to clear up some older issues I had. I also again altered the way Vampirism works in terms of the sunlight.**

**Thanks for reading and feedback is appreciated as always :)**


	12. The 7,000 Steps

**Thanks for the feedback and the reviews, it's what keeps me going :3. Next chapter will be up soon. And this will be the last cover change, promise! I needed to get the eyes right... x)**

* * *

They all unsheathed their weapons as they charged towards the vampire in the distance.

"Stop!" I shouted, "Don't kill her!" I pleaded as I caught up to them, _I need her alive!_ I screamed to myself.

Brynjolf raised his sword high up in the air, sending it plummeting down to the vampire as I ran up to him and pulled his arms back and pushing him down with all of my force, which didn't move him much more than an inch.

"What do you think you're doing?!" I yelled at him, "She's the only one who might know where Mercer is!"

He paused, looking at me, turning to the vampire, who was trying to scurry away on the ground.

"Alright," he gave a sly smile, digging the tip of his sword into the ground, only a few inches from the her head, "Where is he?" He asked her.

"Go to hell!" She shouted, trying to push herself off the ground. Before she could get up, Delvin tackled her back down to the ground.

"I suggest you listen to us. You hear me, you freak?" He spat in her face, eyeing the bleeding corpse a couple feet away.

Her eyes broke away from his stare as she looked up at me, furrowing her brow.

"Well, well. I never thought-" She began, but before she could continue, I pushed Delvin off of her as I took his place, lodging my dagger above her neck.

I leaned in close to her ear, "Utter a single word about how you know me and I'll slit your throat. Do as we ask, and you'll get to keep your life. Understand?"

She nodded, smiling, as I brought my head back up.

"What the hell was that about?" I heard Delvin complain next to me.

I ignored him, focusing my attention on the vampire, "Where's Mercer?" I asked.

"Up your ass!"

I slowly dug my dagger deeper into her throat, marking her skin as she let out a small grunt, "He- he's leaving for Morrowind tonight-" she paused, trying to adjust herself around the dagger, "You'll never catch him."

"Why did he come here to meet you?" I asked, ignoring her last comment as I tightened my grip on my blade.

"He never came here-" She coughed, laughing, "You actually _fell_ for it? For a couple of thieves, you're all pathetic!" She spat.

I threw the dagger on the ground out of frustration, cursing as I turned to look at Brynjolf.

"We fell for his damn trick. He knew we're going to come after him. He was having us run around like idiots so he would have time to leave Skyrim," I announced, shaking my head in shame, grinding my teeth.

"We can still catch up to him, Maven Black-Briar is the one who stationed him in Morrowind, she'll know where he is, lass," He explained, his jaw tightening as he tried to compose himself, trying to pick me up off the ground.

I dug my dagger out of the snow, raising it up before I sent it flying down into the vampire, penetrating her skin, piercing her flesh and digging deep into her heart as her eyes opened wide, letting out a high screech.

"You deserved worse," I whispered to her as I plunged my dagger deeper in, blood forming around her lips and the scar.

"What the hell was that for!" I heard Vex yell behind me, Delvin groaning in disgust.

I felt my breathing grow heavy as her crimson blood coated the snow around us, forming around my hands and fingers as I felt the dampened snow.

I closed my eyes, trying to dominate myself as I got off of the body, looking up at the thieves.

"Brynjolf's right, we need to go find Maven. She'll know where he is," I muttered, walking past them.

I felt a hand grab onto my shoulder brace as I turned around, meeting Brynjolf face-to-face.

"That right there," He whispered, "Isn't how we work. We don't kill unless it's necessary."

I stayed silent, realizing what I had just done; losing whatever chance I had of being cured, all because of my thirst for vengeance… And they were there to witness all of it... "Sorry, Bryn… I don't know what got to me."

He let out a sigh, shaking his head as he turned to look at Vex and Delvin, "We need to head back to Riften and talk to Maven."

"Maven set him up for this, what makes you think she'll be willing to speak to us?" Vex scoffed, as Delvin shook his head, "She's right, Bryn. Maven's the one who sent Mercer to Morrowind."

"Then what do you expect us to do? Just trek into unknown lands, looking for a Breton who's gods know where?!" He shouted, raising his arms up in the air.

I laid my hand on his shoulder, "Calm down, Bryn," I said soothingly, in an attempt to relax him, "We don't need Maven, we know he's heading to take over or create some sort of guild similar to ours in Morrowind. That's enough for us to go on," I smiled.

He paused, looking at me, taking what I said into consideration. "You're right. We head to Morrowind tonight."

Vex and Delvin nodded their heads as I cleared my throat. Brynjolf turned to look at me, confused.

"Can I talk to you alone for a minute?" I whispered.

He discreetly nodded his head as he turned to look back at the two thieves, "Delvin, Vex, go get us a carriage to head back to Riften."

She rolled her eyes as they walked past us back into the town.

"What is it, lass?"

"Remember the night I told you about the dragon, and how he would teach me how to use my power as Dragonborn?"

"Aye…" He nodded his head, realizing where I was going.

"Well, it's obvious Mercer's going to put up a fight, he's the former Thieves Guild Master after all. I want to go to The Throat of the World, and learn what this 'way of the thu'um' is. It might help us in fighting Mercer."

"You expect to make the trip to the highest point in all of Skyrim?"

I looked at him in disappointment, shaking my head, "Do you not have faith in me? How hard can it be really," I smiled.

"When do you plan on making the trek?"

"Tonight, if possible…" I paused, waiting for an objection, but he was silent. "So I can be back by morning."

"You're going to be the death of me, lass," He muttered with a sigh.

"Feel free to join me," I winked in an attempt to flirt, just as he would usually do.

He let out a small laugh as he leaned in to kiss me, lifting my chin with his calloused hands, "Leave the flirting to me," He smiled, "But I can't give up an offer like that."

He looked back to the town, "What do you plan to do with Vex and Delvin?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Am I supposed to do _all_ of thinking here, Bryn?"

"You're right," He gave a sly smile as he walked towards them, vaguely visible in the snow.

I caught up to him, grabbing him by the shoulder, "What are you going to say?"

"Delvin already knows, lass. Might as well let Vex in on your little secret," He winked.

My eyes widened, "Vex isn't exactly crazy about me. Are you sure about that?"

He paused, "So you're _actually_ considering it?" He laughed, "Vex may have a thick-skin, but she can be trusted."

I shook my head, "I'm going to regret this…" I muttered as we walked up to them.

* * *

As Brynjolf was explaining the situation to Vex, she never took her eyes off of me.

_What's her problem? _I thought to myself, keeping my eyes on Brynjolf as she continued to glare in my direction.

Brynjolf then turned to look at me, "Well?"

I blinked confusingly, "What?"

"Anything you'd like to add, lass?"

I paused before I turned to look at Vex, "No," I smiled.

"How long did you expect to hide this from me, from the guild?" Vex asked with a hint of hostility in her voice as he inched closer to me.

I put my hands up in front of me, "Could you blame me, Vex? You haven't exactly welcomed me with open arms since I got here."

Her lips thinned, "Whatever. Do what you want, I don't care. I just want us to catch that son of a bitch," She answered, folding her arms. "We got a carriage, now hurry up. I'm freezing my ass out here."

* * *

The driver dropped Brynjolf and I at the base of the mountain, in the town of Ivarstead - My parents home.

As we got off the carriage, I paused and looked all around me, taking in the scenery, the surroundings, that my parents had once lived in. I had never felt more at home before. It was so serene and calm, just like how I would have pictured it to be.

I jumped as I felt a hand on my shoulder, "Sorry to scare you lass," He chuckled, "Everything alright? You seem off."

I paused, still looking all around me before I looked up at him, "This is where my parents lived, before they moved to Riften."

He fell silent, unsure of what to say.

"It's alright Bryn," I gave him a sheepish smile, not wanting to let my emotions get the better of me. "Let's go."

He was hesitant, but he nodded his head as we headed towards the mountain.

As we crossed over a small bridge that led to the mountain, when we were stopped by what looked like to be a courier.

"Plan on heading up to High Hrothgar?" He asked us.

I looked up at Brynjolf in confusion, "High Hrothgar?" He asked.

The stranger shook his head as he laughed, pointing up to the mountain. "Yes, High Hrothgar, where the Greybeards live."

"Your answers are only making us more confused," I said, shaking my head.

"At the top of the mountain there, live the Greybeards. The followers of the Voice. They never come down here, no one ever sees them. But we send them food every now and then, to let them know we've got their backs, and that they should have ours, should we need them."

_The followers of the Voice. _That sounds familiar.

"Aye, that's where we're headed," Interrupted Brynjolf.

"Would you mind dropping them off this bag? My legs aren't what they used to be, and I'd be damned before I could make the trek up seven thousand steps again."

I blinked in confusion, "Seven _Thousand?_"

He laughed, "You got that right. Well? Would you be willing to?"

I shook my head in disbelief as I took the bag.

"Thanks, stranger. Just drop it off in the chest at the bottom of the staircase," He smiled.

I nodded and I began walking past the bridge, Brynjolf stopped me in my tracks.

"Since when do we do people's dirty work?" He asked, eyeing the bag in my hand.

I rolled my eyes, "Really, Bryn? Don't you believe in karma?" I asked jokingly as I continued walking.

I heard him scoff as he caught up to me, "Well, this is going to be a long trip, lass. I suggest we keep each other warm," He winked.

I couldn't help but smile at his flirtatious attempts, which admittedly, always made my heart melt. I continued walking, thankful that my flushed face was only barely noticeable in the moonlight.

* * *

I let out a groan at the snow, growing thick all around us as we walked up the thousands of flights of stairs.

"This is going to take forever," I muttered, "I hope it'll be worth it."

He hugged me tightly as we continued walking keeping us both warm, "It'll all work out in the end," He whispered, kissing my forehead.

"You really shouldn't always be so optimistic about everything, Bryn," I smiled, "You never know when things can turn around at bite you in the ass."

"I can't help it, lass. You make me a hopeful man," he let out a small laugh.

I looked down at the ground as we continued walking, feeling myself blush with embarrassment again.

Suddenly, he stopped us in our tracks.

I looked up at him, "What is it?" I asked, following the direction of his eyes.

I could see it in the distance, it was enormous, at least 12 feet tall, but barely noticeable in the snow.

"Crap," I heard him whisper as he slowly led us into the trees, away from the frost troll's view.

Lying in the snow, I looked up at him, whispering, "What do you expect us to do, exactly? Wait here until it leaves?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Do you actually want to face something as dreadful as that?" He whispered back.

"I was sent to kill a dragon, remember?"

"And you should be thankful that you never had to fight one, lass."

I let out a sigh, "Well, I'm not going to stay here like a sitting duck. Feel free to join me," I smiled as I got up on my feet, unsheathing my dagger.

He tugged hard on my leg, as I fell back to the ground. I shot him a glare, "What's the matter with you!" I whispered to him.

"You expect to kill a frost troll with a dagger?" He chuckled.

I looked at my dagger. Sure, it was small, but it got the job done… "Well I'm sorry I don't carry around an oversized warhammer, Bryn." I scoffed.

"Here, have this, lass. I've been waiting for the moment to give you this, but I think now would be the perfect time," He whispered, smiling as he unsheathed one of his blades, handing it to me.

My eyes widened as I held onto the sword's handle, feeling the sharp ebony blade with my fingers.

I looked up at him, "This isn't exactly the perfect weapon for a sneaking thief," I murmured.

"Aye," He chuckled, "But would you rather go up against _that,_" He pointed to the oblivious frost troll, "With a _dagger_?"

I shook my head in defeat, "Alright, you win." I muttered, bettering my grip on the blade before I sheathed it, "Thanks, Bryn." I smiled. As I got up off the ground, he grabbed my arm, pulling me back down. He wrapped his arms around me, kissing me gently as his cold lips came into contact with mine.

Before I could respond back, he slowly broke away, "Let's go get us a frost troll, aye lass?" He winked as he got up off the ground.

"You just always know the perfect time to be romantic, don't you?" I rolled my eyes as I did the same.

"We still have the element of surprise, lass. So I hope you don't screw it up," He smiled.

"No need to get cocky, Brynjolf." I scoffed as I slowly made my way to the frost troll, it's back turned to us.

Suddenly, I heard a loud gurgling sound, almost as if someone was snoring. I turned to look at Brynjolf who was following my trail, glaring at him to keep quiet.

"What? That wasn't me."

I furrowed my brow, confused as I turned back to look at the frost troll.

"Is it… sleeping?" I muttered.

I head Brynjolf let out a small laugh behind me, "Then this should be easy, lass."

Before we could take another step, an arrow flew right past us and straight for the frost troll's head.

"What the hell was that?!" I shouted, turning to look for the culprit, but they were no where to be found.

Suddenly, the frost troll let out a screeching roar as he awoke from his sleep, turning in the direction of the arrow, charging straight towards me.

Brynjolf bolted towards me, pushing us out of the frost troll's path. The troll glided across the snow until it came to a halt. He turned to face us as another arrow pierced the back of his head. He let out a roar as he came charging towards us again.

"Get ready, lass," Brynjolf exclaimed as we got back up on our feet, swords in hand.

We ran in opposite directions as the troll charged towards Brynjolf. I took this moment to my advantage as I ran up behind it, striking my sword with all my might.

Brynjolf dodged every one of the troll's hits, whilst I and the mysterious archer were attacking from behind.

I then heard a loud thump, the sound of the troll's burly arm, crushing Brynjolf's bones as I saw him fall back and deep into the snow.

"Bryn!" I shouted to him in horror as the troll made a swift 180 degree turn, his arms hitting me hard as I fell back on the ground, my sword landing a good 15 feet away from me.

I hastily backed away on my hands and feet, trying to get up off the ground, unsheating my dagger, my feet falling deep into the snow. Before I could get back up, the frost troll came thrashing his arms from side-to-side, towering over me, closer with every step.

I kept trying to break free from the cold ground, my hands and legs slipping with every try. I stared death straight in the eye, waiting for the killing blow. The frost troll raised his arm up high, but before he could send it flying down to me, an arrow whirled past me and in between the frost troll's eyes.

I was speechless as it fell to the ground, crashing down into the snow. I looked down at the corpse, breathless as I ran up to Brynjolf, gently helping him out of the snow.

I looked all around me for my mysterious saviour, in the trees and on the ground, but they were no where to be found. Suddenly, something got my attention up on a cliff. As I looked up, squinting my eyes, I could vaguely make out what looked like to be a woman, Breton maybe Or an Imperial? Gray war paint covering her face, her red hair flowing over her shoulders as she ran back into the forest behind her.

I let out a sigh as I looked back down at Brynjolf, "Are you alright?" I asked.

"Aye, no need to worry, lass," He smiled as he got back up on his feet.

"Slow down! I heard your bones crushing when the troll hit you," I exclaimed to him, trying to bring him back down onto the ground.

"Nothing too serious," He said as he cracked his neck and stretched his shoulders.

I shook my head, "You're impossible. Nothing fazes you," I muttered as I got back up on my feet. "Can you make the rest of the trip?"

"You're _really_ beginning to underestimate me," he said jokingly.

"Well if I remember correctly, you said that when the time comes to 'protect' me, that I'd see just what you're so capable of. I'd say that completely backfired on you today," I smiled.

"He simply caught me off guard, don't get too ahead of yourself, lass," He scoffed as he began walking, somewhat slower than before.

"We can sit and rest if you need it, Bryn," I said to him as I caught up.

"Stop worrying yourself. I'm fine, lass." He laughed as we slowly continued the rest of the trip.

* * *

We had finally reached the staircase of what looked like to be High Hrothgar, but no dragon was in sight. I tossed the wretched bag into the chest at the bottom of the stairs as we headed up the steps.

Before I opened the door, I turned to look at Brynjolf, "Be nice. We know nothing about these Greybeards. They can be our friends or our enemies."

"Yes ma'am," He smiled.

I let out one last breath before I pushed open the two doors.

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please give feedback :).**

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	13. Great Powers Comes Great Responsibility

"Hello?" I called out into the large stone room. It was completely stripped bare besides a shrine at the front and a couple plants scattered around.

We heard footsteps coming from the hall to our left. An old Nord in a black hood and cloak creeped up to us.

"Welcome to High Hrothgar, Dovahkiin." He greeted, bowing his head.

"How do you know who I am?" I asked, confused.

"We've been waiting for your arrival for quite some time now," He smiled as he turned to look at Brynjolf, "Who's this?"

"Aye, well my name's Brynjolf, and I'm the lass' companion," He winked as he nudged me.

I let out a small laugh as the Greybeard sighed, "Yes, of course," He paused, looking back at me, "My name is Arngeir, and as a Greybeard, and follower of the way of the voice, I welcome you to our home."

"_Our_ home?" I asked.

"Yes, there are four of us who reside on here in High Hrothgar. But," He paused, unsure whether or not to continue, "But our master, Paarthurnax, lives atop, at The Throat of The World."

"Speaking of The Throat of The World… I need to travel there and speak to your master, please." I smiled.

His lips thinned, he let out another sigh, "I'm afraid that's impossible."

"And why is that?"

"Paarthurnax lives in seclusion, and it is impossible to make the trek without the proper training of your thu'um."

"This is important, please. And I also need to learn how to use my voice to my advantage," I asked, willing to plead if I had to.

"That _is _your fate, Dovahkiin. But why do you wish to learn how to use your voice?"

_To kill the son of a bitch responsible for my parents deaths. _"Because I want to follow the path as Dragonborn."

He shook his head, calling my bluff, "You are to use your thu'um however you see fit, but I bid you to think before you act, and to not take your voice for granted. Now come, we shall teach you the words of your first shout, Unrelenting Force," He said as he walked to the center of the room, alongside three other similar men, The Greybeards.

Another Nord walked up to us, bowing down as he echoed the first word, "Fus…" He muttered, as some scribbles appeared, written in the ground. A glow emitted from them as some sort of powerful aura entered my body.

"By the nine…" I heard Brynjolf mutter behind me.

"Fus, is dragon tongue for force, weak on it's own, but with the other two words of power, it will prove to be much stronger," I heard Arngeir say as another Greybeard took the place of the previous one.

And again, he muttered the second word, "Ro…" as more writing emerged from the ground, their glow and power emitting from them as I absorbed its odd powers.

"Ro, meaning balance. It will control your shout with efficiency," Stated Arngeir as the final Greybeard approached.

The last word emitting from his voice, "Dah…" as, again, writing etched into the ground, the abnormal sensation entering me for a third time.

"With the final word, Dah, push, your shout will be much stronger and more powerful. Use it wisely, Dovahkiin," Arngeir said as he walked back up to me, "Now, let's test your thu'um," He smiled as he turned to the center of the room, speaking in a foreign tongue, dragon speech, as a blue mirage appeared before me.

"Hit the target with your thu'um," He said, turning back to look at me.

I raised my brows as I stood across from the mirage, turning to look at him, "So, I just… _shout_ the words you taught me?"

"It is second nature to you, Dovahkiin. Mimic the words we have taught you, and you will understand."

I sighed as I turned to look at Brynjolf, "Don't watch…" I muttered, smiling.

He rolled his eyes as he laughed, turning his back to us.

I turned back to the target, exhaling slowly as I mimicked the odd words, "_Fus Ro Dah!" _

And as if I had done it a thousand times before, a blue aura emitted from my lips, and was sent flying towards the mirage, whirling it backwards as it smacked into the wall, disintegrating in the thin air.

My eyes widened, "Ha!" I laughed as I catched my breath, adrenaline pumping through me as I witness what I had just done.

"Well done, Dovahkiin," He smiled, bowing down. "Use your power wisely," He said as he turned around and walked down the hall.

"You should've seen it, Bryn," I grinned as he turned back around to face me.

"So you _are _The Dragonborn," He smiled as he walked up to me, placing his hands on my shoulders.

"You never believed me?"

"Oh no, lass. But now I know how powerful you _really_ are, which I must admit, is quite the turn on," He whispered with a low chuckle. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he leaned down to kiss me. But before he could, we heard a cough come from behind us as I looked to see Arngeir shaking his head in disapproval.

"I don't think this is the place for that," I smiled as I broke away, "Come, I want to talk to that dragon I spoke to the other day."

"But didn't you get what you wanted from here?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "There's probably more to it, you never know."

We walked up to Arngeir, who was now crouching on the ground, praying in a hall.

"Sorry to… interrupt, but would it be possible for me to speak to Paarthurnax now?" I asked.

He got up off the ground, glaring at me, "No, it _won't_ be possible. You're not ready for that yet," He scoffed as he turned around.

I looked up at Brynjolf, "What's his problem?"

He shook his head as he walked past me, "I'll deal with this…" He muttered as grabbed Arngeir by the arm, "I think the lass asked you a question, and she deserves a respectful answer."

_Damn it, Bryn._

"I'm sorry but that doesn't concern you," He replied, a mixture of respect and contempt in his voice.

"I'm afraid it does, we didn't make this journey just for her to learn something as simple as a single shout. She has questions, and she needs answers."

I grabbed him by the back of his armour, "Bryn, it's fine. We'll come back later…" I leaned in close to his ear, "We got what we needed to get Mercer."

"You can't let people control you like this, lass. And you're crazy if you're thinking about making the trip back up here again," He said, still facing the Nord.

I heard footsteps come up behind us as another Greybeard walked up to Arngeir, speaking harshly to him in a foreign tongue. He fell silent as the Greybeard turned and walked away.

"…Forgive me. I had… let my selfishness get the better of me. Please, follow me and I will show you the way to our Master," He muttered in shame as he led us back out to the main hall.

Brynjolf gave me a satisfying smile as I rolled my eyes, staying silent as we followed Arngeir.

He led us out to a grand courtyard, snow ensuing all around us.

"This," Arngeir pointed to a gate that led higher up the mountain, a furious blizzard barrelling past it, "Is the path to Paarthurnax. I must warn you, it is unforgiving and deadly. Without the proper shout, you will fail."

_Lovely._ "So what's the shout then?"

He led us to the center of the courtyard, and again followed the same ritual as before with the previous shout, as I was taught the second shout, Lok Vah Koor, Clear Skies.

"With this shout, you will be able to successfully make the trip to the Throat of The World. Good luck, Dovahkiin," Arngeir smiled as he bowed his head down.

As I was about to thank him, Brynjolf cut me off, "How long does this trip take, exactly?"

"With patience and control, you would reach the top by morning," He replied coldly, obviously irritated with Brynjolf's presence.

"Thank you, Arngeir," I smiled, pulling Brynjolf by his shoulder brace to the gate, "Can you at least _try_ to be nice?" I shook my head as I turned to face the blizzard blowing past the gate.

I let out a breath, reciting the words in my mind. "Lok Vah Koor," I shouted towards the snowstorm as it cleared before our eyes, showing the path up the mountain.

I looked up at Brynjolf, again bewildered, taken aback to what he had just seen. He cleared his throat before he smiled, "Aye, let's go lass."

* * *

We walked for what felt like hours in silence. I hated the silence, it always meant something awful was never too far behind.

"What are the odds that we find out about Mercer's betrayal, and that we had caught on to him when I came back to Riften, huh?" I said jokingly, trying to break the quiet between Brynjolf and I as we walked up the mountain.

He didn't utter a word, his eyes shifted to me and down to the ground as we kept walking.

I stopped, forcibly grabbed onto his arm and pulling him back, "What did you do?" I asked.

He shook his head before he finally looked up at me, wrapping his arms around my waist as he leaned in close to my ear, "I told him who you were, lass. How you were Mattais' daughter. That's why he left for Morrowind. He knew you'd be coming after him once you found out what he had done." He whispered, barely audible, "I'm so sorry…" He leaned in to rest his foreheard on my shoulder.

I pushed him away from me, "What the hell? Why would you do that! When did you tell him?!"

"The night you had joined the guild," He muttered, regretting what he had said to me.

I closed my eyes, rubbing my temple, "Would it be so difficult for you to keep just _one_ secret of mine hidden? Just long enough so that we could use it to our advantage!" I exclaimed as I stormed off up the mountain, not wanting to hear another word.

I heard him jog up to me as he grabbed my shoulder, turning me around, "I'm sorry for what I did, lass. But I trusted Mercer," He paused, cursing, "But what's done is done. And we're just scratching the surface here; gods know what else he's done to the guild. And right now, you can't get sidetracked from the bigger issue here. And until we track him down, we can't let our emotions get the better of us."

I glared at him, grinding my teeth as my fangs dug into my gums, "Mercer may have betrayed the guild, but he's destroyed my life. He killed my parents, and no one knows why. They weren't a danger to anyone, you know that. But _I'm_ the one who's going to have to live with it." I paused, trying to keep myself composed, "So I'm sorry if my 'emotions' are getting the better of me, but I have no other choice, I can't control it. My vengeance isn't going to die down until he's dead."

He fell silent, letting out a sigh as I turned around and continued walking up the mountain.

* * *

**I really wanted to build up the Dragonborn side of her here, which is why this chapter is somewhat slow. Next one will be slow at first as well, but it will be well worth it, _promise._ So please be patient :3. You can't have a good fanfic without some tension build-ups.**

_**Are you awesome? Awesome people leave feedback. If you don't, then Aela is going to pay a visit to Sovengard... MUHAHA.**_


	14. Tale of The Tongues

**Did I seriously just write this in one day? Whoa. Well, here it is. Shorter because, well... I don't know.**

**- I had this done yesterday. But for some reason, this chapter seemed to refuse to update. So if you got duplicate e-mails that I uploaded a new chapter, bare with me x). FanFiction has been causing a lot of issues with other authors today too -**

* * *

Again, we continued another walk in complete silence, but he remained close to my side as we reached the top of the mountain.

We looked all around us in search of Paarthurnax, but he was no where to be found.

"Well that was a waste of time," He scoffed as we walked up to some sort of wall, the same writing engraved onto it as the shouts I had learned earlier.

With my fingers, I lightly followed the etching of the foreign language - of the _dragon_ language – along the wall.

"How is it that I can speak this language, but I don't understand any of it?" I murmered to myself as I felt the ground beneath us begin to shake.

"I think we found the dragon, lass," Brynjolf said as a dragon came flying towards us, barely missing me as he landed on top of a perch on the wall.

"Greetings," Paarthurnax roared, "I've been waiting for your arrival, Dovahkiin."

I let out a breath, trying to get the words out of my mouth, "Yes, well, I was hoping you'd shed some light on what exactly it is I'm supposed to do as Dragonborn."

I heard Brynjolf come up behind me, "Can we really trust a _dragon_, lass?" He asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I shrugged his hand off as I stepped forward, "If you don't like it, then leave." I muttered, not looking back at him.

He groaned as he stayed silent behind me.

"The appearance of the Dovahkiin and The World-Eater in the same timeframe certainly is no coincidence," The dragon bellowed.

"World-Eater?"

"Yes, Alduin, The World-Eater, it is your fate to send him back into the other realm through time."

I blinked confusingly, "Through _time?_"

"He cannot be entirely defeated, not yet. He will return eventually, but it is _your_ fate to vanquish him from Nirn until his time comes again."

"What if I don't want to follow my fate?" I asked.

"You can't be serious, lass…" Brynjolf muttered behind me.

"What would reason for this be, Dovahkiin?" He asked.

"I don't like knowing what my reason for living is. How did Alduin end up here in Skyrim?"

"It is believed that he was summoned to Nirn through an Elder Scroll," He paused, "But it is your decision to make, and I cannot convince you otherwise, but think twice before you make your final decision, Dovahkiin."

I took what he said into consideration, but why wouldn't I want to save Skyrim – Or all of Nirn for that matter? Although, I never _chose_ to become Dragonborn, it shouldn't be my forced duty to clean up someone else's mess.

"I'm guessing killing him won't be as easy as I think."

"Unfortunately, you are right. There will be several steps you will have to take to defeating him, the first of which is obtaining an Elder Scroll, which will teach you the shout necessary to kill him."

"Can't I just have Arngeir teach me it?" I asked.

He let out what sounded like a sigh, "No, this shout is far beyond The Greybeards comprehension, and this shout was made by man, not dragon." He paused, reading the confusion in my eyes, "You will understand when the time comes, Dovahkiin."

"He's here now?" I asked.

"Yes, and you must decide quickly, as your time is soon approaching."

I turned to look at Brynjolf, "What do you think?"

He seemed taken aback that I was speaking to him, which admittedly, had me laughing silently to myself.

"Well I'd like to live as long as possible, lass. Isn't it obvious?"

I bit my lip as I shook my head, turning back to look at Paarthurnax.

"What are the odds of me coming out alive of all of this?" I asked.

"I am not one to make that decision, Dovahkiin. But Alduin is a powerful Dovah, who kills ruthlessly and without a second thought."

The answer was obvious, "Then I need time to think about all of this…" I muttered, looking down.

"Now hold on a minute," Brynjolf said, coming up to Paarthurnax, "You're saying she won't be coming out of this alive?"

"Again, it is not for me to decide."

"So that's a yes then," He replied.

The dragon fell silent before he turned to look at me, "If your will to follow your fate is powerful enough, then you will hopefully succeed."

"Right," Brynjolf interrupted, "We'll be on our way now, thank you," He said, grabbing on to my hand.

"Wait," I said coldly, shaking my hand away, "If it's my fate, then I'll have to consider it, Brynjolf."

He groaned as I walked up the wall, "What's this?"

"A dragon wall, you will come across dozens more as your travel across Skyrim. They will teach you the words of power for both new and old shouts, making your voice stronger. And should you choose to fulfill the prophecy as Dragonborn, the path to defeating Alduin will become more manageable than you would've originally thought."

I nodded my head as I looked up at the dragon, "Thank you for your time," I smiled.

"Should you need further guidance, I will be watching atop from Monahven. Good luck, Dovahkiin. Drem Yol Lok," He roared as he extended his wings, beating them back and forth before he took flight behind the mountain, out of sight.

"Well then, let's get going," I said as I walked past Brynjolf.

"You're actually considering sacrificing your life to 'fulfill your prophecy', lass?" He asked.

"I'm _considering_ it, doesn't mean I'm going to fall through with it. Either way, it's a lose-lose situation for me. Defeat Alduin and I die. If I don't, then all of Nirn will perish because of my ignorance."

He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"We need to focus on Mercer right now, let's go," I said as I continued walking past him.

* * *

The sun began to shine over the horizon as the carriage we were riding in stopped at Riften.

"I need to go have a quick talk with Vex and Delvin, I'll be right back," He explained. Knowing that I was attempting to ignore him, he didn't wait for an answer.

After half an hour, he appeared outside of the city gates.

I looked at him, baffled, "Aren't we getting Vex and Delvin to come with us to Morrowind?" I asked as he hopped back up on the carriage before the driver began moving again.

"They need to watch over The Ragged Flagon in case Mercer shows up again. Besides, I wanted us to get some one-on-one time," He winked. But I could see in his face that he was begging for forgiveness for what had happened earlier.

I rolled my eyes as he came and sat next to me, wrapping his arms around me, "I'm sorry for what I said earlier, lass," He whispered into my ear, kissing my neck.

I stayed quiet, unsure of what to say as his lips caressed my bare skin, slowly making his way to my lips, "Do you forgive me?" He asked sweetly, a sheepish smile forming across his face.

"I'll see," I muttered jokingly as he brought his lips up to mine.

"I said I'll _see_," I laughed, pushing him back with my hands, "Besides, we shouldn't let our emotions get in the way of the bigger issue here, right?" I said, mimicking what he had told me the night before.

He gave me a look of defeat as he slumped back into his seat, "You're no fun, lass," He muttered.

* * *

The driver stopped a mile outside of Riften, "This is as far as I can take you to Morrowind's border. You'll have to walk the rest of the way."

"Thanks a lot," I said sarcastically as Brynjolf tossed him a coin purse.

As we walked down the road, Brynjolf was explaining what our possible tactics were.

"We know he's either starting some sort of guild, or he's joining one. And if we're lucky, there'll only be one Thieves Guild in Morrowind. So we ask around without attracting too much attention to ourselves, and hopefully we'll get some leads on the bastard. Got it, lass?"

I nodded my head, "But I don't understand how he betrayed the guild exactly, other than abandoning us."

"Remember that damned book he was always reading down down at the cistern?"

I scoffed, "How could I forget?"

"Turns out he's been robbing us blind. That book was a ledger book, and he would take the time to forge the numbers in his favor, should we pick up on how much gold was going missing," He paused, his jaw tightening. "And when I headed down to The Ragged Flagon to speak to Delvin, we opened the treasury room, and it was empty. Mercer stripped it bare before he fled for the border. But he's going to pay, for everything," He said coldly, clenching his fists.

"I'm sorry, Bryn. At least we caught on to him."

"Aye, all thanks to you, lass," He grinned, "If it wasn't for you, gods know how long he would have continued cheating us like that."

I looked up at him, returning his smile as his eyes jolted to something behind me, widening with horror. "Aela!" He shouted, as he tried to push me out of whatever was coming our way. But before he could, I felt a hard, blunt force hit the back of my head as I blacked out, falling down to the ground.

* * *

**Yes, I know I may have screwed up some parts with Alduin, but I wasn't planning on replaying the entire game to get it right, so I apologize :3.**

**Short chapter, & I just **_**love **_**cliff hangers. Please leave feedback/reviews, and I'll hopefully write the next chapter soon.**

**_If you don't, then everyone's going to die... I'm. dead. serious... Maybe._**


	15. In The Face of Adversity

_**-I apologize if you get multiple alerts/emails. FanFiction has been causing a lot of issues for me recently. -**_

* * *

_Wake up, sweet, sweet Dragonborn..._

_…Your time has come._

_Time to face the truth…_

_…Time to watch the life you've worked so hard for…_

_…Crumble before your eyes._

* * *

My eyelids opened slowly, fading in and out, the sunshine blinding my sight, the shade of a tree blocking it's rays.

I was surrounded by trees, the sounds of water crashing near. I raised my hand to touch my cheek, but they were bound tight, my wrists scraping against the rough twine.

A brute force picked me up by the shoulders, placing me hard on my knees above the rough ground.

I heard a snicker come from behind me, "I see you're finally awake."

In front of me laid Brynjolf, mirroring my position, his hands and feet all bound together from behind.

"Br… Brynjolf," I called to him as his eyes slowly opened, looking up at me.

"Mercer…" He muttered, "I'm going to kill you…"

"You just couldn't mind your own damned business. You just had to snoop around, didn't you?" He said as he walked up in front of me, crouching down as he raised my chin.

"Dragonborn, eh? Come on, show me what you got," He smiled.

I mustered up whatever strength I had and spat in his face. "Fuck… you."

He grinded his teeth as he wiped it off his cheek, "Now, is that any way to treat your Guild Master?" He asked as he stood up, kicking me hard in the chest as I fell on my back.

I coughed, spitting up blood as Brynjolf shouted across from us, "Don't you lay a finger on her, Mercer!"

He laughed as he picked me back up on my knees, "And why's that, Bryn?" He asked as he knelt back down in front of me, parting my lips open with his fingers.

"Get away from her!" He exclaimed, trying to break free from his ties. Mercer ignored him, his eyes glistening with ecstasy as he ran his fingers over my fangs.

"So it's true…" He whispered to himself, grinning as he stood back up, walking towards Brynjolf.

"Did our dear, precious protégée tell you her little secret?" He asked as he knelt down behind him.

"Don't you dare Mercer!" I hissed, trying break the twine wrapped around my hands.

"Our dear Dragonborn, the saviour of Skyrim," He paused, patting Brynjolf's shoulder, "Is… a vampire," He announced. "How about that? Both protector, and predator."

I felt like I had all the air and life sucked out of me, the earth beneath me fell apart as tears formed in my eyes. Brynjolf looked up at me, his eyes filled with despair and anguish.

"Is it… Is this true?"

"Bryn, please," I muttered, my voice breaking as I tried to get my words out, "I was going to tell you, I swear, but-"

"But, you didn't," Mercer interrupted, "Did you really expect it to work out? How long were you going to hide this? _Forever?_"

I bit deep into my lip, my sight blurring as I looked down, the hurt in his eyes too unbearable.

"Does a vampire burn in the sun?" Mercer asked sarcastically as he got back up on his feet. Grabbing me by my wrists, he dragged me out into the sunlight, the rays burning every inch of my skin through the armour. He slammed his foot on my neck with all his force, "You just couldn't stay away from Riften. As if you're father wasn't enough of a pain, you had to come along."

I screeched in pain as his boot dug deeper into my neck, my skin and blood boiling from the harsh sun.

"Get away from her, you bastard!" Brynjolf shouted, breaking the wrapping around his ankles. With his hands still bound, he charged towards Mercer, head first. He thrust him forward with all his force as Mercer fell forward to the edge of the cliff.

I didn't give a slight thought to whether or not Mercer was still conscious. The chances of me coming out alive of all of this was slim, and all I wanted was the chance to explain everything to Brynjolf, to prove to him how much he meant to me...

I turned over to look up at him as he was kneeling above me. "I'm so sorry Bryn…" I whispered, looking deep into his eyes, his face stricken with grief and exhaustion. I just wanted this to be over – whether it be life or death, it truly couldn't get any worse.

His breathing was heavy as he looked down at me, shaking his head from side-to side as he fell down on top of me.

"How could you do this, lass…" He whispered, "…I loved you… And you couldn't even trust us… You couldn't trust me."

Tears rolled down my face, splintering my cheeks from the sunlight, as I opened my mouth to say something, anything – But I didn't know what to say, because he was right. I didn't trust him, but why? He would risk his life to protect me, and I took it all for granted. Now, it was all going to slip away right before my eyes.

I leaned my head against his, "I'm going to fix this Bryn. I promise, I-" Suddenly, Mercer appeared from behind us, thrusting himself forward as he attacked Brynjolf, throwing him to the ground, his dagger adjacent to his neck.

I couldn't keep quiet, knowing that Mercer wouldn't think twice about slitting Brynjolf's throat, I called out to him, "Mercer, leave him out of this! I broke in to your house, I stole the letters, I killed your guard and I exposed you, you son of a bitch! Come and get me!" I shouted as he turned to look at me, a sly grin forming across his face.

"No!" Brynjolf objected as Mercer jabbed his face with his boot, "You really know how to pick 'em, Brynjolf," He gleamed, "Viveka!" He called out into the forest as an orc woman, almost twice the size of Brynjolf, appeared from the trees.

"Keep an eye on our Nord friend, will you?" He said as she took his place, unsheathing her iron sword, bordering Brynjolf's throat, "Try something smart, and I slit your throat," She spat.

As Mercer inched closer towards me, his grin growing wider, "I wouldn't try anything funny if I were you. You dare utter one of those shouts of yours, and Viveka's blade will reach Brynjolf before your shout does."

Mercer reached for my bad, emptying the contents within it, one of which was my guild armour.

"What a shame," He snorted, picking it up off the ground, "You would've made a lovely thief," He chuckled, flinging it over the cliff.

I shifted my sight towards Brynjolf, begging and cursing at Mercer to back away as his eyes met mine.

"I'm so sorry… I love you," I whispered to him, my voice cracking as Mercer grabbed me by the neck, and with such ease, dangled me over the cliff like a ragdoll, water crashing far beneath us.

"It's truly is a disgrace. You had such a great talent, such great potential… But you just had to stick your nose in where it didn't belong, just like your father," He spat as his grip tightened around my throat.

"I'm going to kill you!" Brynjolf shouted towards us as the Orc hit the back of his head with the handle of her sword.

"Brynjolf-" I cried out, my voice almost completely muted from Mercer's tight grasp.

"The second-in-command and new blood hopelessly in love – it's almost… fairytale," He gleamed, slowly loosening his grip, "But there's no such thing as the perfect ending, isn't that right, Dragonborn?"

I spat in his face, "Even if you kill me, the guild will be coming after you, you son of a bitch!" I exclaimed, catching my breath.

His jaw tightened, "You'll never learn, will you?" He barked as he grabbed onto my shoulder brace.

His face was only a few inches away from me now. If I was going to die, then I wanted to leave my mark… permanently.

With my hands still bound, I raised my fists and uppercut him, his head snapping back as he stumbled forward, losing his balance as we were both sent flying over the cliff, Brynjolf shouting past us.

"You _bitch!" _He cried out as we free-fell, the water still at least 200 feet below us.

My adrenaline rushing, I stretched my ankles as far in the opposite directions as possible, quickly breaking the twine. I wrapped a leg around his waist, and with the other, I kicked him hard in his chest with all my force in an attempt to gain some space between us.

His speed almost doubled, the space between us rapidly grew as he crashed hard into the water. I tried to undo my wrists before I made impact with it as well. But before I could, my body slammed hard into the water, the seemingly small waves engulfing me as I struggled for air.

I felt a hand wrap around my ankle from deep into the water, dragging me deep into the unknown. I tried kicking whatever parts of his body that I could, but it was hopeless, the tides over powering us both.

All of a sudden, I felt an arm grab onto my shoulder, attempting to send me up to the surface, Mercer still refusing to let go of his grip.

The arm that was clasping onto my shoulder suddenly disappeared, as did Mercer's grip on my ankle as I tried to make my way above the water, distancing myself from him.

As I gasped for air catching my breath, I made my way to the shore as quickly as possible, fear of being sent down beneath the water again overwhelming me.

I crawled onto the sand, coughing up blood and water as I looked behind me and out in to the open water.

I then saw bubbles forming on the surface of the water as I waited to see who would emerge victorious.

Deep, purple eyes came into my sight as she made her way above the water. A female Dunmer swam up to the shore next to me.

"…Wh-Who are you?" I asked, coughing up the last of the water in my lungs as she fell next to me, catching her breath. She was dressed in the typical Thieves Guild armor, but I don't remember ever seeing her in the Cistern, or even in Riften for that matter...

She looked up at me from the ground, pausing for a few seconds before she spoke, "My name is Karliah. But before you reach for your blade, please let me explain."

"You betrayed the guild!" I spat as I got up on my feet, unsheathing my sword.

"We don't have time. Mercer will awaken soon, and we need to leave," she protested as she stood up, walking slowly towards me.

"He's still… alive?" I asked, my eyes widening as I stared into the lake.

"Yes. And if you want to survive, I need you to trust me."

* * *

**I'm on a roll here, three chapters in what, four days? This was another short chapter, so I apologize. They will hopefully become longer once I'm done with my midterms.**

**Yes, Aela could've ****_Fus Ro Dah'd_**** Mercer's ass to oblivion back when they were on the cliff, but that wouldn't be much fun.**

**Please leave feedback and reviews, it's honestly pretty much the only way I can keep writing this fanfic. :) Or else… ****_*Laughs sinisterly*_**


	16. Through His Eyes

**P.O.V - Brynjolf**

* * *

"Aela!" He screamed as they fell off the cliff. The Orc, Viveka, hit him with the back of the handle of her sword, "I said shut up you damn Nord!"

"They both fell off the cliff, get the hell off of me!" He spat back at her as he kicked her off of him with all his force, running up to the edge of the cliff.

Before he could look over in search of her, the Orc came charging at him from behind, gripping her hands around his neck as she threw him back on the ground behind her, "Mercer's already paid me to kill you, and I could care less whether or not he's alive to see it happen!" She laughed as she grabbed her sword off the ground, sending it flying down towards him.

Without a second thought, he grabbed the sides of the sword, careful to avoid the sharp blade, stopping it as it cut through his palms.

He twisted the sword 90 degrees as Viveka fell over-side of him from the force. He hastily ran his hands up the length of the blade, cutting the twine that bound his wrists as the Orc's body slammed hard into the ground next to him.

Quickly getting back up on his feet, Brynjolf unsheathed his elven sword as he inched towards Viveka, unsure on whether or not to strike.

"It's really not in my nature to kill, but I'll be more than happy to do so if it comes down to it," He said, waiting, anticipating her next move.

_The longer I waste my time here, the less time I'll have to save her…_ He thought to himself as the Orc got back up on her feet, charging towards him, her fists up and out in front of her.

"So that's how it's going to be, aye?" He smirked; and with such ease, he stepped to the side as the Orc charged past him, missing her target as she reached the edge of the cliff.

He ran up behind her, his sword drawn as he stabbed her in the center of her back, digging the blade deep into her thick flesh. She screeched in pain as the tip of the blade came into her sights, poking out of her torso.

"You really should've listened," He said, twisting the sword left and right, skewering her body before he slid the sword out of her back, blood coating the blade.

As she fell onto her knees, trying to shield her wounds, he brought his foot onto her shoulder, and pushed her forward over the cliff as she cried out, plummeting down to her death.

He fell silent, letting out a heavy breath as he shook his head in regret.

He sheathed his sword and walked to the edge of the cliff, "Where are you, lass?" He muttered to himself, trying to make out the small images in the water. He bit his lip as he contemplated whether or not to jump down.

_I'm better off finding a different path, _he thought to himself as he hastily looked around him for a way to make it down to the shore.

Suddenly, he heard a voice come from within the forest in front of him, "Brynjolf, is it?" He heard, but no figure was to be found.

He raised his brow, "Do I know you, lass?" He asked as a Nord, her red hair masking her shoulders, made her way into the sunlight.

"I'm sorry but I don't have time for introductions right now, and I'm running short on time here," He continued, walking past her.

"If you want to save the woman you love then I suggest you listen to me," She answered, her voice rough as she stopped him in his tracks.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," He muttered, "And as I said, I'm running low on time and I need to get to her before her potential killer does," He paused, "How do you even know her?"

She let out a sigh, "I'll explain along the way. We both want the same thing here. For her to come out of this alive, now come on. I'll show you the way down to where she might be."

"You saw her fall off the cliff?" He asked, his jaw tightening.

"Well, yes-"

"Then why in oblivion didn't you do anything to stop this from happening?!"

She raised her brow, "If you must know, I was across the lake, at the border. I ran here as fast as possible, but it was too late. And save your breath, because your intimidations don't work on me."

He grinded his teeth, "Take me to where she might be," He said, ignoring what she said as he walked past her.

* * *

"Looks like Mercer's men beat us here…" The Nord whispered to Brynjolf as they crouched behind a rock, spying on the bandits.

"We can take them on," He answered back.

She turned to look at him in disbelief, "We're outnumbered 2 to 10, and I'm not one for close-handed combat. We're better off waiting it out."

He shook his head, "How exactly do you know her?" He asked again.

"Her parents and I were close friends before she was born. I had saved them once when they were hunting in the forest."

"You… you knew Mattais then?"

"Yes. They named her after me too, you know," She smiled, looking up at him, "As thanks for what I had done for them."

He let out a sigh as he looked down, "Aela… You're part of the Companions, aye?"

She nodded, "Yes. Glad to know my name's getting around."

He let out a low chuckle, "Did you ever meet her?"

"Not other than when she was a young child. But the night she…" She paused, unsure of whether or not to continue, "…Turned, I had taken her to the inn at Falkreath. It was the last I had seen her for years."

He closed his eyes as he rested his head in his hands, "You were there when she became a vampire…" He said, barely audible under his breath.

"No, but when I saw the bite marks on her neck, after she was unconscious for what seemed like hours, it was quite obvious…"

He shook his head, sighing, "How could she do this to herself… to not even trust me. I would have guarded her with my life, and now she's slipped from my fingers," He whispered, "And if Mercer's alive... He's going to stop at nothing to have her killed."

"We're going to get to him before he gets to her."

He raised his head, looking up at the huntress, furrowing his brow, "Why are you so protective of her after not seeing her for so long?"

"You're not the only one who made a promise to her father," She paused, "I know who she _really_ is, and I know that with that kind of power, partnered with her… vampirism, that she may not make the smartest decisions. Mattais told me all about you, and to be ready for you when the time comes."

Brynjolf let out another groan, closing his eyes as he pulled his hands over back his head. _After everything we had been through…_ He thought to himself, _ for you to keep it hidden for so long. How did I not pick up on it? It was all hidden in plain sight. Why, lass? Why? And as if Mercer wasn't bad enough, The Dawnguard are going to be tracking you down as well…_

"The Dawnguard…" He cursed under his breath, "If they find out about her, they'll stop at nothing to see her dead."

"Then you should stop at nothing to protect her."

"How am I supposed to do that when she doesn't even _trust _me? And gods know where she is now…"

Suddenly, the bandits were chanting as they ran up to the lake, "He's alive!" They gleamed as Mercer washed up on the shore.

"No…" Brynjolf muttered in disbelief as he was about to get up on his feet. But before he could blow his cover, he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Brynjolf, this isn't the time. We won't be able to take all of them on," The huntress whispered as she forced him back down onto the ground.

"This may be our only chance!" He shot back at her in a whisper.

She shook her head, "You'll be signing your death wish if you plan on fighting them all."

He clenched his jaw, contemplating the truth behind her words, "You better hope we don't lose his trail, lass."

She rolled her eyes, "Now keep quiet, we need to see what he's planning on doing. And if you want to save her _and_ kill Mercer, then I suggest you listen to me." She said as they hid beneath the rock.

* * *

**This'll be the only different P.O.V chapter I'm going to be doing. Besides, third person isn't exactly my forté & I just really wanted to get Brynjolf's perspective on it all. It'll go back to Aela's perspective in the next chapter. **

**Thanks for reading, and please review/give feedback :)**

_***Special Thanks to the Readers who gave me their input on this chapter***_


	17. Important Author's Note

I know I'm probably going to get a tonof hate for this false update - But I just wanted to let my followers and readers know that I'm going to have to take a break from writing to focus on my midterms and assignments. I honestly have **no **time to write, and I know that I usually update at least once to twice a week, but I'm going to have to take a break for a week and a half or two to focus on university.

I mean, I haven't _even had time_ to play the Dragonborn DLC that just came out on PS3 - which is just sad.

Sorry guys, I know it sucks, but hopefully you all won't forget the storyline too much in the next week or two - & (hopefully) thanks for understanding :).

_P.S - And to those who were really wanting to see a darker side of Brynjolf in terms of her vampirism, sorry for the dissapointment. That was the original reason as to why I had wanted to do it from his P.O.V, but I just didn't know where to squeeze it in their because their was so much going on - and it really pissed me off that I couldn't, sorry :l [I may do one - promise, just one, more chapter of his P.O.V later on so you can see his perspective.]_

Anyways, Hopefully you'll all understand, just so no one thinks I died or anything... Thanks for your time :)

~SwindleHeart


	18. Lines Crossed and Secrets Exposed

**SURPRISE! ... No? Pfft...**_**Anyways**_**, I planned on writing only the first few sentences, and before I knew it, I had the entire chapter done. I was going to wait until next week anyways to update it, but I felt like that may have been a bit cruel. I'll take my leave now, hopefully I'll go M.I.A no longer than a week.**

**Note: If Enthir (Who is that guy anyways? THE DAMN CONJURER IN THE COLLEGE WHO KEEPS HITTING ON KARLIAH.) is one of your more favorable NPCs, then I'm afraid you may not be too fond of this chapter :l … Sorry, have a raisin cookie :D. (Because I know you hate raisins; they look like _cockroaches. HURR)._**

**I had 3 cups of coffee for the first time in months - So, excuse me. **

**Okay, I'll shut up now... I-I... I don't know what got a hold of me...**

* * *

**Back to Aela's P.O.V:**

* * *

"If you expect me to trust you, then you need to answer some questions."

"Aela, please. Mercer's men will be coming any minute now, we don't have much time. I promise – I will explain everything when the time comes," Karliah pleaded as she got up from the ground. "We need to get back to Skyrim, prove my innocence, and alert the guild."

"How do you know my name?" I asked, "How do you know I'm with the Thieves' Guild? How do you know all of this about me?"

She let out a heavy breath as she fell silent. "Your father, and Gallus," She paused, closing her eyes, "Were very close. Everyone knew about you, but your father never realized it. I've been keep tabs on Mercer for years now, and you eventually came into the mix." She looked back up at me, "Gallus was our Guild Master before Mercer murdered him, and put the blame on me. Now we need to leave before we're killed by his men."

"What? Why would Mercer kill Gallus?" I asked in confusion, ignoring her pleads to flee. He may have robbed the Guild blind, but would he actually have the courage to do such a thing? Kill his own Guild Master? What could possibly drive him to do something so drastic?

She sighed, "_P__lease. _We have to leave. I promise, all your questions will be answered once we're safe."

"Fine," I shook my head in disappointment to her lack of answers, "Where do we go?"

"To Winterhold. I have a contact there, and he'll help us clear my name."

"Wouldn't dragging Mercer back to the Guild be enough?"

"I think you're forgetting the reason why I'm pleading for us to get moving. His men are coming any minute now. We won't be able to take them all on, and we don't have time to recover his body."

"So then why can't we just go back to the Guild - without Mercer?" I argued, "They'll believe us. They already know Mercer betrayed them."

"Because me being blamed for Gallus' death is greater than anything else Mercer has done so far. They won't let us step foot into the cistern, bantering and making claims that I was framed for his death without proof."

_More like they won't let _you_ in._ But I couldn't just abandon her; after all, she did save my life… "Fine. Let's go to Winterhold," I said in defeat as we fled into the forest.

* * *

The frost-ridden town of Winterhold was a spitting image of Falkreath, plus the snowstorm that never seemed to quiet down. It was a ghost town, but ironically, there was a college that seemed to be full of life that was situated right behind it.

"What a lovely town," I scoffed as we walked up to the porch of the local inn.

"Please, try to be respectful to Enthir. He's a dear friend of mine, and I'd like to stay on good terms with him," Karliah explained as she opened the door.

I rolled my eyes as she led me past the bar and down a flight of stairs. She knocked on the door as a voice came from the other side.

"Who is it?" Echoed the voice.

"Enthir, it's me, Karliah."

"Ah, I thought I'd never see you again!" The voice chanted as the door creaked open.

"Who's this?" A Bosmer appeared from behind the door, staring me down from head to toe.

"This is Aela, the thief I had told you about, remember?" She explained.

He furrowed his brow, thinking hard before he snapped his fingers, "Ah! Now I remember, Brynjolf's little protégée."

_Brynjolf…_ I looked down, my eyes beginning to tear up as my last memories of him ran through my mind over and over again. He could be dead for all I knew, by that damned Orc's hand… And he hadn't even crossed my mind this entire time. If he was in my place, he would've stopped at nothing to save me. And here I was, on the other side of Skyrim while he was gods know where… How could I be so selfish?

"Karliah…" I muttered, unsure whether or not she would hear me as I looked up, wiping my tears away, "We left him on the cliff… Brynjolf... He could be…" I choked, trying to muster out my words.

"I'm sorry, Aela," She said as she brought her hand up to my elbow, bringing me close for a hug, "He could still be alive," She whispered.

"I hope you're right…" I whispered back, barely audible as I rested my head on her shoulder, "I have to go back for him."

She brought my head up, grabbing onto my shoulders, "He'd have left by now. You know that. I understand, it's hard. Trust me - I know what you're going through," She said, her deep purple eyes glistening in the dim light, "But it's only a matter of time before you embrace once again, and I pray to Nocturnal that it'd be here on Nirn."

I sighed, crossing my arms tightly across my chest, my elbows digging into my ribs. I nodded my head without looking up, signalling for Enthir to lead us into the room.

"Right, well, here's the journal you've asked me to hold on to while you were gone," He said as he led us in, hurriedly making his way behind a desk in the center of the room, reaching for a book in a drawer.

"Now, I tried to decipher what language it's written in, and it seems to me to be in the tongue of the Falmer, which I have no real knowledge of," He explained as he opened it up, showing us the scribbles written within it.

Karliah shook her head, "Lovely," She said, rubbing her temple. "Do you know someone who could decode it for us, then?"

"Actually, luckily for you, when I was snooping around Calcemo's Museum in Markarth, I came across a... guide," He laughed, speaking to himself under his breath, "Serves you right, you old geezer... That'll teach you to have me banned from Understone Keep..."

She snapped her fingers, "Stay with me, Enthir. Please."

"Yes – well, this guide is a sort of… translator of the Falmer language, for lack of a better word, really," He explained as he dug through the drawer, "Now where is it… Ah-Ha! Here we go," He gleamed as he brought up a roll of paper drabbled with charcoal markings.

"What is this?" She asked, grabbing hold of the edge of the paper.

He lightly smacked her fingers, "Now, now…" He batted his finger left and right, "I went to great lengths to get this beauty. And it's one of, if not the only, ways to decipher this journal of yours. And I'm not letting it go for cheap."

"Enthir, after all we've been through?" She said, stunned as she shook her head.

"I'm sorry Karliah, but I had to make a deal with a not-too particularly lovely Dremora Lord to get my hands on this."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was contemplating whether or not to shove my sword up his ass. I didn't have time for this, every minute we waste here is another minute we could be using to track down Mercer, or even searching for Brynjolf…

I walked past Karliah and smacked my hands down on the desk. "I'm not in the mood for your bullshit, Enthir. Now hand that over before I think up how many ways to cook up a Bosmer."

He gave a sly smirk, "Save it. If you think you're going to intimidate _me_, then you've got another thing coming, love."

I grinded my teeth, my fangs digging deep into my gum. I stared him dead in the eye, "Then give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."

"Because, by the time you reach for that lovely sword of yours, I'll have this paper up in flames," He explained, grabbing hold of a torch that was mounted on the wall adjacent to him.

I felt a hand grab hold of my shoulder as Karliah came forward next to me, "What do you want, Enthir?" She asked nonchalantly.

"You're going to co-operate with this guy?!" I groaned in disbelief, "What's in that damned book anyways?"

"It was Gallus' journal, and it has proof of my innocence, along with details of Mercer's betrayal" She explained, "And that paper is our only way of moving forward in any of this. It's what we need to show to the Guild."

I stepped back as I looked up at Enthir, "Why in oblivion would he write it in a foreign language?" I asked, but he simply shrug his shoulders. "Fine. What do you need done?"

"Well…" He paused, crossing his arms as he leaned back on his heels, "There's a village, Kynesgrove. I have quite a few important contacts there, who are worth quite a large sum of gold in terms of... information. And I'd hate to have to see them in The Hall of the Dead."

"What's this have to do with us, exactly?" I asked.

"The people of Kynesgrove can't protect themselves against a damned wolf, and they will _very_ soon face a _very_ bad situation," He paused.

"Today, Enthir," I sighed, trying to speed it up.

"Patience," He paused as he held up his hand, taunting me, "There's a dragon that is going to attack there soon, and I need you to go kill it, before the entire village goes up in flames."

My eyes widened in disbelief as I let out a laugh, "You can't be serious. How do you expect us to do that?!"

"Enthir, this is outrageous. We don't have time for this, please, this task is close to impossible," Karliah pleaded as she paced back and forth alongside the desk.

Enthir looked up at me, his eyes gleaming as a cheeky grin spread across his face, "I thought it would be quite an easy task - I mean, you _are_ the _Dragonborn, _after all_."_

* * *

**As always, feedback and reviews are appreciated :). You'll get a special spot in my heart if you do. **

**DON'T LAUGH. IT'S AN EXCLUSIVE GROUP & IS VERY, VERY ELITE, OKAY?!**

**Thanks to all my readers who were understanding of my 'somewhat' of an absence, you're all awesome. **


	19. The Dragonborn Comes

I slammed my hands down on the table with all my force, the tankards and books on the desk wobbling.

_"Dragonborn?!" _I shouted, grabbing hold of the collar of his shirt, smacking him hard onto the table.

"Where the hell did you hear that?!" I screamed into his ear, unsheathing my sword, making sure it was in his sight, and that I wasn't afraid to use it.

"Half of Skyrim knows!" He laughed, coughing as he tried to gasp for air.

"Is this _funny_ to you?" I asked, shoving the palm of my hand deeper into his neck, the side of his head pressing harder on the desk.

"How did you find out?" I demanded, keeping my grasp on his neck.

"That little talk you had with that dragon –" He coughed between his words, wheezing as he struggled for breath, "Definitely didn't go unnoticed."

My jaw tightened as the memory replayed in my mind, "Who told you?" I asked, but he was silent.

I hit the back of his head with the handle of my sword, "Who told you?!" I repeated.

"Hold up your end of the deal, and I'll tell you," He answered, "I don't need you killing me off now, do I?" He asked sarcastically, snickering under his breath.

I brought him back up with his collar, throwing him back as he fell to the ground, "I don't have time for this!"

I walked around the table and picked him back up by his neck, bringing his face up to mine, "Be ready for us. We'll back by sunrise tomorrow, you son of a bitch. And that paper better be here when we arrive."

I threw him against the desk as I looked up at Karliah, who was silent.

I let out a deep breath, "I guess you know my little secret now."

She shook her head as she sighed, "…Aela, was that really necessary?"

"Come on," I said as I walked past her and back up the stairs, "We've wasted enough time here."

* * *

Kynesgrove was a small village, meaning that we had to walk the entirety of the way. Other than Karliah being our map and compass, leading us in the direction to the town, most of walk was spent in the dreadful silence.

"So, how exactly do you expect us to kill this dragon?" I asked as we continued to walk, the sun thankfully hidden behind the dark clouds.

"We'll have to wait and see, I suppose," She said, looking ahead. I know she wanted to bring it up – the whole Dragonborn thing. But she fell silent once again.

I let out a groan, looking down at the ground as we continued walking, the silence again engulfed us.

"When did you know you were Dragonborn?" She asked, I looked up at her, but she wasn't making any eye contact with me.

"When I came back to Riften, I found my father's journal. It had information about me being Dragonborn. It even talked about Brynjolf and Gallus," I said as I sifted through my bag, taking out the book as I handed it to her.

She took the torn journal and skimmed through it.

"So much for keeping it hidden," She muttered as she read over the lines.

I let out a small laugh, "Yeah. I'm not too good with that."

She pried her eyes away from the pages as she looked up at me, "Aren't you worried that almost all of Skyrim knows about this?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "It was bound to happen sooner or later, I guess. I don't really see what the big deal is anyways. It's not like I have people lining up for my help."

"I suppose. Be careful – you don't know how powerful this makes you."

I groaned, "Why does everyone keep saying that? Just because I can do a couple shouts and absorb a dragon's soul?"

"You obviously never heard of Miraak, then," She laughed.

"Who?"

"Some people believe he was the first Dragonborn. He didn't exactly use his powers for the betterment of mankind. I don't know too much about him. I'm sure Enthir does, if you asked him. It's more of a legend than a fact."

I raised my brows at the thought of actually being powerful, paired with my Vampirism – for people to actually _fear _me. Oddly, the idea had me smiling to myself.

* * *

"I don't see any dragons," I said as we made our way to the entrance of the town.

"Something's not right here," Karliah muttered as she looked all around, a thick fog coming over us.

Suddenly, someone came out of the fog as she ran past us, screaming, "Run! Run for your lives, the end has come!"

Karliah grabbed hold of her shoulder before she ran off, "What's happened?" She asked.

"Dragons, everywhere! We thought it was a myth, but by the gods, it's true," She cried out as she broke from her grasp, running out into the horizon.

I let out a sigh, "At least we're in the right place," I said as I unsheathed my sword.

Karliah took her bow in her hand, "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get to the Guild."

I closed my eyes, "It's only a matter of time, Brynjolf…" I sighed as we made our way through the thick fog.

We ran past the houses in the direction that people were running away from, the sound of dragons roaring in the background.

"I have a bad feeling about this," I said to Karliah, unsure whether or not she'd hear me over the screams and roars, "This sounds like a lot more than a single dragon."

She nodded her head, "Keep fighting until the end. Hold your head high, Dragonborn."

We both stopped in our tracks, the sight of a dragon being reborn right before our eyes in its burial, with another dragon hovering above, his scales as black as night.

"Dovahkiin," He roared as the other dragon's scales began to materialize above his bones.

Karliah readied her bow, putting an arrow in place as she brought it up to the dragon.

I lifted my hand to her, "Wait," I muttered, "I think he's speaking to me."

She looked at me in disbelief as she brought her bow down, "Aela, this is our only chance."

"I know. Just give it a minute, see what he does."

The other dragon began to flap his wings as they became visible, making his way high up in the air, shouting to the other dragon in the foreign tongue before he made his way for the horizon along with what seemed like dozens of other dragons.

"Dovahkiin," He shouted again as he locked me in his sights. "What a shame, the Dragonborn does not understand her own language."

"Who are you?" I shouted back at him, feeling absurd as I again, was speaking to another dragon.

"Do you truly wish to waste your power as Dovahkiin on a land that does not even know your name?" He asked, "The people of Nirn are ignorant, vain and narcissistic. You either choose to join to fight your own kind, the Dovah, or to fight _with_ your kind. To fight alongside the people who will forget your name, who will forget your very existence once your deed is done. Or to live and bask in the life and luxury of the Dovahkiin?"

"Go to hell," I shouted, "You're not going to fool me into becoming your own pawn, you damned dragon!"

"You will be a pawn to all of Skyrim if you choose to protect these fools," He roared, "Miraak was the first Dovahkiin. He had an entire world at his fingers because of his strength, knowledge and authority over the dragons. You can lead the same life that Miraak has, Dovahkiin. A mortal of your stature can only imagine the possibilities," He continued as he flew higher up in the air.

"We are too powerful for you to fight against. Why not fight with, instead? Skyrim will vanquish eventually, be it now or later. You will simply be pushing it's doomsday back."

"Alduin," The other dragons roared to him as they continued to make their way past him to the horizon.

He roared back as he took flight, shouting back to me before he disappeared in the fog. "Your time has come, Dovahkiin. Time to decide your fate."

* * *

**I know there's no 'hell' in Skyrim, but saying "Go to hell," sounds a lot better than "Go to oblivion!" Am I right? **

**I just started playing Dragonborn, and I'm not too sure about Miraak's relationship with other dragons, so hopefully I didn't make a complete fool of myself with how this guy works (I totally winged the whole concept about Miraak). If I did screw it up, then my bad, I guess. It's not going to follow the Dragonborn DLC too much though, so no worries (hopefully - no promises though).**


	20. Reunion Time

**_(I know these chapters are a lot shorter than my older ones - it's just because I figured it'll be better to update regularly but in smaller chapters rather than go MIA for weeks on end with no updates at all.)_**

* * *

We were silent for what felt like hours, taking in what the dragon, Alduin, had just said to us.

"I think we should get going," Karliah muttered, turning to look at me, "It's almost midnight."

Without another word, I sheathed my sword as we turned around, walking the entire way in silence, not uttering a word of what we had just encountered.

* * *

"What do we tell Enthir?" I asked as we made our way back to Winterhold.

She thought hard before she spoke, "Tell him we killed the dragon. No need to let him in on what really happened. He isn't exactly trustworthy."

I nodded my head as she opened the door to the inn.

We again made our way past the bar and down the stairs to Enthir's hideout.

Karliah knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

"Enthir?" She called out past the locked door, but there was no reply. She turned to look at me, "This isn't good…" She muttered as she made her way up the stairs.

"Excuse me," She said to the barmaid as she made her way around the counter, "Do you know of Enthir's whereabouts?"

The woman, a Nord, kept brooming behind the counter, not looking up at her, "Haven't seen him all night."

Karliah sighed as she tossed a hefty coin purse on the counter. The barmaid grinned as she leaned the broom against the counter and led us down the stairs. She unlocked the door with what seemed to be a master key, and left without another word.

Karliah let out a deep breath as she creaked open the door.

"By the gods…" She gasped, her eyes widening in horror at the scene.

Blood was splattered all across the walls, books and papers scattered all over the floor, no Enthir to be found.

"What could've happened?" I asked, kneeling down at the papers laying in front of me.

"Someone wanted him dead."

I looked up at her from the ground, "Wha- Why? Could it be because of us…?"

She shook her head as she made her way to his desk, "I don't know. Please Enthir, let the paper be here…" She pleaded as she searched through the mess of papers. "Help me look for the translator."

I nodded my head, frantically looking through all of the books and papers scattered all over the ground.

* * *

After almost an hour of searching, I let out a deep sigh. "Karliah… it's not here."

"It has to be!" She yelled out, "It's our only chance, and we lost it!"

This was the first time I ever saw her this upset, out of the composed and collected image that she's been carrying since I met her. "Karliah, we'll find another way, don't worry." I said reassuringly, making my way to her.

"How do you know that?!" She argued, burying her head in her hands as she leaned on the edge of the desk.

I didn't know. But I couldn't give up hope. It's all I have to keep me going - to keep _us_ going. And I'll be damned if this damned paper was going to get in the way. "We have no other choice but to keep going," I said. "Come on, someone's bound to have seen what happened."

I held her shoulder, "We're just wasting more time here. We need to leave."

"Now why would you want to do that?" A voice chanted from the doorway.

I looked up, the image in the doorway blocking our path. "Mercer…" I hissed, reaching for my sword. Before I could take another step, an Altmer appeared from behind, casting some sort of spell on us.

"Now, now. We don't need things to get out of hand here, do we?" He grinned, walking up to me.

"You bastard!" Karliah shouted from behind, trying to break away from the spell.

He looked over to her, snickering under his breath, "I'll get to you in a minute, my dear," He said, turning back to look at me.

"Such a shame…" He said, kicking me hard in my torso as I fell to the ground.

"Damn you to oblivion!" I shrieked in pain, "I'm going to kill you! By the gods if it's the last thing I do!"

He knelt down beside me, pushing me onto my back, "Is that so?" He asked, bringing his hand up to my chin, "If only Brynjolf were here to see this…" He said, punching me hard across the face, "_That's _for sneaking into my house."

He then kicked me hard in the torso again, adding to the increasing pain, "_That's _for killing my guard."

He wrapped his hand around my neck, bringing me up off the ground. He threw me across the length of the room, slamming me into a side table, "And _that's _for the little stunt you pulled back at the cliff."

I tried to reach for my dagger that was sheathed at my side, pain jolting through my entire body as Mercer made his way towards me.

"You just don't give up, do you?" He said, kneeling back down in front of me.

"Alright, here," He took my dagger and handed it to me, "Give me your best shot, Dragonborn."

_Dragonborn… _How could I have forgotten?

I closed my eyes as I readied for the only shout that I knew would be of any use, but before I could – as if Mercer read my mind – he shot his hand towards my neck and another to my lips.

"No cheating," He grinned, muffling my mouth "Hindrick!"

An Orc appeared behind Mercer in bandit clothing, "Yeah boss?"

"The linen wrap, you idiot!" He ordered as the Orc handed him the fabric.

He quickly unwrapped it and gagged my mouth with it, tying it from behind my head, "No need to use our little shouts, now do we?" He snickered.

I stayed silent, not moving from my place as he kept his glare on me, the spell still running the course of my body.

"Nothing?" He asked, getting back up to his feet.

He walked past me, turning to look at Karliah, unconscious on the ground from the spell of the Altmer.

_Karliah… Please. Wake up. _I cried to myself, trying to muster up whatever strength I had to get up, the pain too much to bear.

"Never thought I'd see _you_ again," He smiled, pushing her onto her back with his foot, "How heartbreaking."

Then, she suddenly did something none of us had seen coming.

She quickly took her dagger that was sheathed at her side into her hand, and with one quick swift stabbed the bottom of Mercer's leg, "DIE!" She yelled as he fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

Before she could get off the ground, the Altmer cast another spell, forcing her back down to the floor, her dagger dropping out of her hand.

Mercer edged away from her, shouting to his two accomplices, "Kill them! Kill them both, I don't want either one walking out of here alive!"_  
_

* * *

**OH SHIIIIT. Did that seriously just happen? SHIT JUST GOT REAL, SON.**

**Please review I really appreciate them and they make my day :) I write up the chapters, which takes me at least an hour or two each. So why don't you return the favour and leave a review that'll take 10 seconds to write ;)? It's all good karma!**


	21. So Close

**Another short chapter - ****_SORRY :l They'll be longer soon, I promise._**

* * *

Mercer crawled towards the doorway, a trail of blood in his tracks, "I don't want to see them leave here alive, you hear me?!"

The paralysis spell was still in control of my body, but it was slowly fading away as the Altmer slowly inched towards me, weary of what my next move was going to be.

"I'm going to enjoy this," He smirked, "Now what shall it be, Dragonborn? Death by… burning? Maybe freeze to death, perhaps? Or… how about I just send volts of lighting through your body, hmm?" He snickered as he readied his hands for another spell.

Suddenly, an arrow hit the back of his shoulder, he stumbled forward.

"Get up!" Karliah instructed to me. She replaced her arrow with another, dodging every one the Orc's blows.

The spell finally broke away as I ripped off the linen wrap and got up to my feet, frantically searching for my sword in the midst of the chaos.

As if reading my mind, she slid the sword my way on the ground, continuing to strike at the Orc.

Hastily picking it off the ground, I turned to the Altmer and stabbed his other shoulder with the blade, doing little damage as he healed the wound with a restoration spell.

_Lovely._ I ran across the now cramped room, distancing myself from him. My eyes locked on with his, I took a deep breath and readied my thu'um as he charged towards me.

My lips parted, mimicking the only three words I knew. "_Fus Ro Dah!" _I shouted, as everything in the room – books, chairs, people – flew across it, slamming hard into the back wall, the sounds of bones crunching and bodies crashing ringing in my ears.

The sights of the three lifeless bodies before me laying on the ground had me frozen in my tracks.

"Karliah!" I screamed, running up to her, "Shit… I-I'm so sorry." I crouched down next to her, checking for a pulse.

"Please, please, wake up…" I muttered as I held her, looking up at the two bandits.

The Orc was dead in a pile of blood, arrows nudged all over his body. A long spear that was mounted on display on the wall was jabbed through the Altmer's waist. He was still alive, blood bubbling up at his mouth as he tried to take it out.

The smell of blood was thick in the air, the scent intoxicating me as the darker sides of me took over.

"No… No…" I whispered, pleading, "Not now!" I cursed, "Karliah, please, get up!"

"Mercer…" She muttered under her breath as she regained consciousness, "Go… Go after Mercer."

_Shit!_ I completely forgot about the bastard. I looked around the room, of course he was no where to be seen, but a trail of blood was clearly visible going up the staircase.

"I can't just leave you here-" I objected, but before I could go any further, she smacked my arm as she tried to sit up.

"Just go, I'll be fine," She said as she leaned against the wall, bringing her hand over a chest wound, her jaw tightening at the pain. "It'll be your last chance," She grunted, "Now go!"

I paused, unsure of whether or not to go.

"Aela!" She cried out, "GO!"

I nodded as I ran out of the room. I made my way up the staircase, searching all over the inn for any signs of where he may be headed.

_Empty, of course. _Mercer and his men must've cleared it out earlier...

I cursed to myself as I followed the blood trail outside of the inn. His tracks were growing fainter and fainter, the snow covering up most of the blood that had dripped onto the ground.

The trail ended right outside of Winterhold, the bloody foot tracks replaced with the hooves of a horse, leading far out into the wilderness that surround the small town.

I let out a deep breath as I crouched down on the ground, slamming the snow with my fists, "Damn you, Mercer! You can't keep hiding forever, you hear me? I'm coming for you, you son of a bitch!" I yelled into the blizzard, "I won't rest until your blood is on my blade, if it's the last thing I do!"

* * *

**I actually really wanted to kill Karliah off… She's so perfect it's weird. But I just couldn't find it in my heart to do it. Damn her accent! **

**Again, I apologize for the freakishly short chapters – university just takes up so much of my time, and as I said before, they'll be longer soon. **

**As always****_,_**** reviews are appreciated :). The next chapter should be up soon, and will also be longer.**


	22. Yet so Far Away

I stomped back into the inn and made my way to the Altmer, still holding on to any last hopes of life.

"Where's Mercer and Enthir?!" I yelled at him, unsheathing my sword.

"Go to hell," He said faintly, the blood building up in his throat barricading his airways.

"Tell me," I paused, unsure whether or not he'll call my bluff, "And I'll save you. I've practiced in the school of restoration."

He looked into my eyes, fears of death overcoming him as he fell for my lie.

"They're in Mercer's hideout, in Irkngthand," He groaned, aching in pain as the wound grew deeper, "P-Please, help me..."

"Why would he keep him alive?" I asked, ignoring his pleas.

"I don't know! Something about a journal, please, I beg of you," He reached out his hand to me, "Please."

I shook my head in disappointment, "You think I'd have the patience to study in a school of magic?" I grinned, "Thanks for the information."

I pulled the spear out as he fell to ground, shrieking in pain. I took a grip on the handle and sent it flying down, piercing his torso as he let out his final screams. "You should _never_ trust the Dragonborn."

I turned to look at Karliah, "At least we got something out of this," I said as I helped her up off the ground, "Are you going to be okay?"

She shook her head, "You're becoming something I had hoped you wouldn't be."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're becoming a monster, and you don't even realize it," She said flatly, "All this power is going to your head."

"What? Just because of my little show back there?" I scoffed, "I'm sorry I'm not as calm and laid back as _you _are, Karliah. But I'm going to stop at nothing to track Mercer down. And if it means cracking a few skulls to get there, I'm not going to oblige."

She let out a sigh, not arguing with my logic. "Now what?" She asked, "Are we heading to Irkngthand?"

I shook my head, "No. We won't be able to take him on with just the two of us. Chances are he'll have more of his bandit friends at his side. We need the Guild to have our back."

"We can't go back without that translator."

"Well then, it looks like we're heading to Markarth to speak to Calcelmo about this translator of his."

* * *

"Don't bring up Enthir. He's obviously not on the best terms with the people here," Karliah explained as we stood outside the doors to the Understone Keep.

I nodded my head, "And maybe it'll better if you let _me _talk to him," She finished as she pushed open the doors.

I shot her a glare, "And why's that?"

"Because you don't really know how to make people feel… comfortable. And we need Calcelmo to be on our side."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever. But if he puts up an argument, then I'll have to take care of him," I said jokingly as we made our way into the keep.

"Do you know where we can find Calcelmo?" She asked as she walked up to a guard.

He scoffed as he pointed to a room to his left, "Watch your back."

"Why-"

"Why do the gods choose to torture me like this!" Came a shout from the room, cutting her off.

"_That's_ why. Old man hasn't exactly been himself lately," He laughed, "Now get out of my way, I'm on duty." He continued as he walked away.

"This'll be fun," I groaned as we made our way to the room.

"Remember,"

"I know, I know. I keep my mouth shut while you turn on your charm," I said, finishing her sentence, "Let's just get this over with."

The room turned out to be a vast hall, but nothing other than an arcane enchanter, alchemy lab and books occupied the room, an old man going berserk in the corner, his neck up in papers.

"Calcelmo, I'm guessing?" She asked wearily.

His eyes shot up at us, "What? Who are you and what do you want?" He asked, shielding a book he was reading as he inched closer towards us, his guard up.

She brought her hands up in front of her, showing that she wasn't a threat. "We could really use your help. My name's Karliah, and this is Aela," She said, gesturing to me.

"The… Dragonborn?" He asked, his eyes widening as he began to step back, "Get away from me!" He shouted, bringing his hands over his head, "I have nothing of value here. Please, now leave!"

I rolled my eyes, _great…_ I was about to step forward when Karliah brought her hand out to me, instructing me to stop, "I'll take care of him."

"Calcelmo, we aren't here to hurt you, we need help with transcribing something. And word is you have the only translator in Skyrim," She said to him.

He looked up from between his fingers that were shielding his face, "What translator?"

She sifted through her bag, bringing up Gallus' journal. "This book is written in the Falmer language, and we need it translated. I'm in dire need here, Calcelmo," She pleaded, turning on her charm as she handed him the book, "Please?"

He skimmed through the book, "It'll take me a while to decipher it. I could always get you a copy of it though. For the right price of course, shouldn't be too difficult…" He said, trailing off into his thoughts as he looked back up. His eyes darted straight towards me.

"But how do I know _she_ won't try anything?" He asked.

"You have my word Calcelmo," She said, "Aela won't lay a finger on you."

"Hey!" I interrupted from behind her, "I'm not some gods-forsaken threat, thank you very much," I scoffed.

"I've heard stories otherwise," He muttered on his breath.

"What did you say?" I said, stepping closer towards him. Karliah brought her hand up to me, but I shoved it away as I brought my face up to his, "Who told you about me anyways, huh?" I asked, bringing my hand up to my sheathed sword.

"Get back!" He spat, "Or I'll call the guards!"

_"Who. Told. You?"_ I asked again, stretching out every syllable as I glared my eyes, "Try calling for your guards, and I'll kill you where you stand."

Karliah placed her hand tightly on my shoulder, "Enough," She said angrily, pulling me back behind her as she turned to look at me.

"What in oblivion are you doing?!" She whispered in a shout as she brought us a few feet away from him, "I told you to keep quiet – We need him on our side," She continued as she spoke under her breath.

"I want to know how he found out about me being Dragonborn!"

"Please," She said, letting out a sigh, "Can't that wait for now? Mercer is out on the run, and Brynjolf is gods know where. The faster we finish here, the faster we can get back to the Guild. Isn't that what you want? To see Brynjolf again?"

I brought my head down as I crossed my arms, "...More than anything…" I whispered.

"Then we need Calcelmo as an ally, not an enemy, correct?"

I nodded my head as I looked back up, "Alright," I said in defeat as I walked up to Calcelmo, who was glaring at us as he huddled in a corner, "I'm sorry for my outburst," I said as I forced a smile, "And I'm sure we'd both appreciate it if we could move on from the situation."

He looked at Karliah before standing back up, straightening out his robes. He walked up to her, ignoring me as he spoke, "I have what you need, but you'll have to do something for me first - which you really should've expected after that outburst by your Dragonborn friend."

I rolled my eyes again, forcing myself to keep silent as he continued to speak. "There's a woman…"

I laughed under my breath, obviously knowing where this was going. He shot me a glare as I bit my lip from laughing and gave him a sarcastic, reassuring nod.

He shook his head as he turned back to Karliah. "As I said… There's a woman, Faleen... She works here in Understone Keep. I've been watching her from the shadows. I've been yearning for the day we will speak, but quite honestly… I'm a nervous wreck when it comes to speaking to women-"

"What a shocker," I scoffed.

"Keep quiet, will you!" He called out, "If it wasn't for this Dunmer here, I would have had your sorry ass put in Markarth's prison by now, you hear me?!"

I brought my hands up in defeat as Karliah shot me a _'keep your mouth shut'_ look.

She look back at Calcelmo, ushering him to continue.

"Yes. Well, the only way we could move further in deciphering this book of yours is if you could learn more about her, perhaps find something that I could use to my… advantage – for me to be able to muster up the strength to talk to her," He continued shyly, his cheeks turning a light rosy color from embarrassment.

Karliah nodded, not needing further explanation as she turned to me, "Let's get going."

There were a thousand witty comments running through my mind, but I kept my lips sewn shut as we walked out of the room. This was the only way were going to track Mercer down - and more importantly, see Brynjolf again. And if it meant tracking down a complete stranger that we have no knowledge of, and making her fall in love with this old stick-in-the-mud that she's never even spoken to, then so be it.

_Because no matter what it takes; we will see each other again. We will embrace again, We will be together again._

* * *

******As promised, a longer chapter :). Please review, they are always appreciated.**  



	23. Unrequited Love

_'And you're sure she's exactly who you say she is?'_

_'Yes, only one in all of Riften.'_

_'And how much would it cost us for this… newly found information?'_

_'5000 gold, no negotiations.'_

_'Celann, the coin purse, please. Much pleasure doing business with you, Mercer.'_

* * *

"So… how exactly do we find this poor Faleen?" I asked as we walked the streets of Markath.

"To oblivion if I know…" She shrugged.

"Lookin' for Faleen, eh?" A voice chanted from behind us. I turned around to see a Nord leaning against a wall, a cocky smile spread across his face.

"Um… Yes, actually. Could you help us with a particular… love interest?" I asked, crossing my arms.

He furrowed his brow as he studied me from up to down, "I don't think women are exactly Faleen's type…" He muttered, Karliah chuckling silently from the corner of my eye.

"Wait, what?" I asked, confused. "Oh no – it's not for me," I said, bringing my hands up in front of me, "It's for a wizard up in Understone Keep!"

"_Calcelmo_?" He scoffed, shaking his head, "Looks like that old man's still got it in him, eh?…" He trailed off, laughing to himself at the thought.

"I assume you could you help us, then?" Karliah asked.

"Well what is it you need help with, my beautiful little Dunmer?" He said, giving her a wink.

"We need something to get Faleen to notice Calcelmo – in the '_good'_ way. Something that will spark a flame between them." She explained, completely ignoring his flirtatious advances.

He rolled his eyes, fetching a paper from his bag. "I have the perfect thing," He grinned as he held it high up in the air.

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"Faleen has a soft spot for poetry. And I just so happen to be an ex-bard, a master of the musical arts," He said proudly. "For the right price, this lovely little poem can be the key Calcelmo is looking for."

I raised a brow, "And how do _we _know this is what we need? For all we know, Faleen could hate poetry with a passion," I argued.

"Ask around, hot stuff," He winked, "I've swayed almost every last woman here in Markarth. I know what women love, and what will make them weak in the knees."

I scoffed, turning to Karliah, "What do you think?"

"It's our last chance right now. I say we go for it. The quicker we're done here…" She trailed off.

_The quicker we'll get back to the Guild, _I sighed. I looked back at the burly Nord. "How much?"

"500 gold," He said bluntly.

"For a measly poem?! You can't be serious!"

He crossed his arms as he looked at Karliah, "For you, I suppose I could cut it down to 200. Looks like I've fallen victim to those purple eyes of yours, and not to mention the accent," He winked.

"Save your breath," She answered coldly, tossing him a coin purse. "And keep the change," She continued, snatching the paper out of his hand, "Let's go."

* * *

"Thank you, thank you!" Calcelmo chanted as Karliah handed him the poem, "Praise be to the gods, I will forever be in your debt!" He read over the poem, a smiling gleaming on his face.

"The translator?" Karliah asked flatly, snapping his eyes away from the small paper.

"Hmm? Oh, yes…" He said, bringing up a roll of paper from under a desk, "I believe this is what you're looking for. And it will be yours once I speak to Faleen."

I let out a deep sigh, too tired to argue as Karliah nodded for him to lead us to Faleen. I eyed the paper, contemplating whether or not I should simply steal it.

"Aela," Karliah glared at me, whispering.

I reluctantly left the paper on the table as I followed her out of the room.

* * *

We made our way to the steps outside of the keep, to a Reguard woman leaning against a wall at the entrance.

"Faleen, c-could I… speak to you for a moment…?" Calcelmo asked shyly as he made his way up to her.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Oh, yes. I uhm, I work up in the Dwemer Museum – in Understone Keep..."

She raised her brow in confusion, "Yes, I remember…" She chuckled to herself, "How can I help you?"

"I heard you have quite the soft spot for… poetry," He said, his cheeks turning a light rosy color.

"I guess you could say that, why?"

"Well, I just so happen to have written a poem, and I would love if you could maybe… hear it?" He asked, his hands shaking as he brought up the paper.

"I suppose…" She muttered, unsure of where this was going. I turned to look at Karliah, her hand covering her mouth, but I could easily see the corner of her lips forming a smile, chuckling under her breath. I couldn't blame her; the awkwardness was almost too much to bear.

"Ahem," He cleared his throat, opening the paper as he began reading the first lines:

_"My lover's heart is numbing stone_

_That hides in ice beneath our sight._

_So some decry, 'It is not there.'_

_While other whisper-"_

"Oh, I'm… I'm so sorry, Calcelmo…" Faleen said, cutting him off, "I, I really don't know how to say this…"

_Gods kill me now. This is becoming more and more awkward, _I thought.

"Wh-What do you mean?" He asked, his face turning a deep red as his knees began to tremble under his robes.

"I'm sorry Calcelmo, but, I'm married," She said, bringing up her hand to show a silver garnet ring.

_Ouch! Did not see THAT one coming. _

"What? To who?!" He asked in shock.

"Her name is Kal-Ma, we had to keep our love life a secret because, well, her being an Argonian, and me being a Redguard…" She trailed off, giggling to herself, "But it all worked out in the end!" She chanted, "Isn't that great?!"

_I guess women __**are**__ her type after all, _I thought, smiling to myself.

She paused, remembering the situation she was in as she regained her composure, "Oh, I'm so sorry Calcelmo, I _really_ am. I wish you could have known… so you didn't have to go through all this trouble…"

I stopped listening into the awkward conversation, not knowing how much more I could take. I turned to look at Karliah, who was laughing from under hood. I gestured her to quietly follow me back into Understone Keep.

"What are you doing? We can't just leave him there," Karliah argued as we made our way through the shadows towards his laboratory.

"Did you really expect her to fall for him, Karliah? _Seriously? _We held up our end of the deal, it's not our problem now. We get the translator, and ditch this bastard. Besides, he hasn't exactly been welcoming ever since we stepped foot in this place."

She let out a sigh, not bothering to argue with me as I snatched the paper roll off the desk. I unrolled it, and sure enough, there were drabbles of letters that deciphered the mysterious Falmer language.

I rolled it back up and handed it to Karliah, "To Riften?" I asked, trying to keep my excitement composed.

She shook her head, "We have to translate it first."

My jaw dropped, "Are you KIDDING me! How long would that even take?!"

"Few days, a week tops," She paused, waiting for an objection, but I remained silent, shaking my head in frustration.

"I think our best bet is if we got as far away from Markarth as possible, Calcelmo won't be too happy that we stole the translator without his consent. We then decipher it, take a carriage ride back to Riften, and show it to the Guild. I know this is difficult for you," She said, bringing her hands up to my shoulders, "And I'm just as aggravated as you are, but we _have_ to do this if we want to move further in all of this, and you know that."

I let out a sigh, grief overcoming me, "Alright," I nodded, "Let's get it over with."

* * *

Over the next seven days, we deciphered Gallus' journal in a room of the inn at Windhelm. Each page took one day, and with errors being a common reoccurrence, partnered with my impatience and Karliah's fatigue, was not the best combination.

Eventually, we had deciphered the entire journal, and tweaked all the mistakes. I quickly skimmed through it, reading what Gallus had suspected of Mercer. I stopped at a sentence that read about Karliah. I looked up at her to find her lying in the bed, exhausted.

"You and Gallus were... lovers?" I asked wearily.

She slowly opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling as she spoke, "Yes."

I fell silent, regretting I ever brought up the question.

"It's alright," She said, still looking up at the ceiling, "No one really knew about us either."

I traced over the corners of the journal, "I'm sorry," I muttered, unsure of what else to say. "But Mercer's going to pay, for everything."

She looked up at me, a faint smile appearing on her face as she sat up, perched on the bed, "Let's get going, we've been at this long enough. It's time to turn the tables, and finally put him in his place."

I returned her grin, "About time."

* * *

We hurriedly packed whatever things we had, and took a carriage straight for Riften.

"So what do we say to the Guild, exactly?" I asked as we made our way to the city's gates.

"I suppose you would have to go in first. Chances are they'll come in charging with their swords if they see me. Tell them about how Mercer betrayed the Guild years ago, and how he was the one who killed Gallus. Hopefully, his journal will be enough proof for us."

I nodded, feeling my stomach churn beneath my armour from the responsibility. I'd have to prove Karliah's innocence, the person the Guild has despised for almost an entire decade.

The carriage stopped a 30 feet away from the gates – as usual. As we made our way to the entrance I could make out a carriage parked in front of the main doors. It looked nothing like the other carriages I'd seen in Skyrim. It was extravagant, it's entire exterior coated in black.

"Whoever came here in that, is definitely _not_ from Skyrim," I said, "I wonder who they are?"

"It seems familiar…" Karliah thought, "Where have I seen it before…"

I could make out several posters that were hanging onto the surrounding walls. I walked up to it, ripping one off the wall as I read it;

**_~WANTED~_**

_NAME: __Aela Bierhelm_

_SEX & RACE: Female, Nord/Imperial Cross_

_LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Winterhold, Skyrim_

_RESIDENCE: Riften, Skyrim_

_CRIME: Two counts of First-degree Murder, Multiple counts of Theft, One account of Attempted Murder, Treason & of Vampirism Syndrome_

_10, 000 GOLD REWARD - ALIVE. NO EXCEPTIONS_

_FAILURE OF THE CO-OPERATION OF WITNESSES & ACCOMPLICES WILL RESULT IN THEIR EXECUTION BY THE LEGION._

_-WANTED __ALIVE BY THE RULE OF THE DAWNGUARD-_

I stared at the bounty poster, my mind blank.

_How? HOW?! This couldn't be happening! How did they find me?!_

"Karliah..." I muttered, still looking down at the paper, "They're here..." Suddenly, a loud, projected shout came from within Riften's walls, "The Dawnguard has arrived, and we are here to protect the people of Riften, of Skyrim, and of all of Tamriel, until every last vampire is killed!"

* * *

**Hey, see that text box down there? Why don't you leave a quick review that'll take you 5 seconds to write, before I get depressed and end up taking weeks to update? .. **o_o

**Thanks for reading :).**


	24. Home Sweet Home

**Is this a long chapter I see? Gold star for me ;)**

* * *

"The Dawnguard, they're here. They have a bounty on my head! What am I going to do?"

"Aela, relax," Karliah said, reassuring me. She grasped tightly onto my shoulders, "We'll take a side entrance, and use the shadows to get down to the cistern. We'll worry about the Dawnguard once the time comes – but right now, the Guild needs us."

I clenched my fists at my side, my hands beginning to shake. "A-Alright," I muttered, slurring on my words, "Alright."

* * *

I was still barely able to keep control of myself as we made our way silently through one of the side entrances of the city. The Dawnguard were occupying the city circle, everyone's eyes turned to them, making it easier for us to slip by unnoticed.

We stopped at the cemetery, in front of the entrance to the cistern.

Karliah turned to me, handing me the deciphered journal, "You know what to do?"

I nodded, taking the journal. I turned to the secret entrance, pushing the button on the coffin that revealed the secret entrance, "Wish me luck."

* * *

I made my way down the ladder, my emotions growing heavy. Taking a few steps into the cistern. I took a deep breath, holding my head up high as I made my way into the light of the cistern. That was when I felt a strong force from behind push me forward, throwing me across the room as I crashed with the hard ground.

"VAMPIRE?!" I heard, the voice screaming from where I was thrown.

I tried to pick myself up off the ground, the pain in my side growing, "Let me explain," I tried to say under my heavy breath.

"I would _love _to hear your explanation!"

I looked up from the ground, Dirge making his way towards me, his sword ready to strike.

Before he could take another step, a woman, one I've never seen before, came from behind, pulling him back by his collar, "What in oblivion do you think you're doing?!" She yelled into his ear.

"She's a traitor!"

She gave him a hard smack across the face, "I'm sorry Dirge, but you need to learn your place, you have no rights to do what you just did!"

He grunted, rubbing his swollen cheek. "Go get Delvin," She ordered.

"Just 'cuz your buddies with Brynjolf doesn't mean you can control me!"

She shot him a glare, "I said: Go. Get. Delvin."

"Whatever…" He mumbled, heading to the Ragged Flagon.

The stranger turned to me, holding out her hand.

I took hold of her hand as she helped me off the ground, "Sorry about that. I should've known that was going to happen..."

"Do I know you?" I asked.

"Well, I'd suppose I have some explaining to do-"

"Aela!" She was interrupted by Delvin's chanting from the other end of the cistern as he made his way to us.

I turned to look at Delvin, unable to hold back my smile as he gave me a hug, "I never thought I'd see you again!"

"I could say the same thing," I said back to him, "I have something important tell all of you."

"Of course," He turned to Dirge, "Go gather the Guild."

Swearing under his breath, he made his way back to The Flagon.

Delvin turned back to me, eagerly waiting for me to say something.

"Well?"

"Well what?" I asked, confused.

"Bryn told me you encountered Mercer. Did you find him? Did you…"

I shook my head, "No. But we know where he is. And speaking of Brynjolf…"

"We?" He asked, cutting me off.

I looked back at the ladder, wishing Karliah would simply come down and explain herself. But I knew I had to do this on my own.

"I think it's better if the whole Guild is here first," I explained, "About Bryn…"

"Aela!" A chant came from the end of the cistern, Sapphire, along with the other Guild members, came our way.

"I can't believe it… you're alive…" She gave a sigh of relief, bringing me in for a hug.

I raised my brows at that – Sapphire definitely wasn't someone for showing their emotions.

"I can't believe he just left you there on the cliff… I wanted to come for you, but Brynjolf said your trail had gone cold," She whispered to me.

"I'm know, and I'm sorry Sapphire," I said as we broke away.

She was about to speak before I felt a punch in my shoulder, "Welcome back. Vampire, huh?"

I turned to see Vex, giving me a smug smile, "I'm not one for hugging you know."

I rubbed my shoulder, letting out a small laugh, "I know, Vex. And about the whole vampire thing..."

I was cut off by Rune who brought me in for a big bear hug, "Aela!" He chuckled, "Now… I know we weren't ever really close before the accident with Mercer, but I want you to know I consider you like a sister. If you ever need me for anything, or if you just want to talk, I'm your man - remember that."

I couldn't help but smile, "Thanks," I blushed. It was obvious Rune pulled at my heart strings, but not like how you'd think. He was more like a little puppy that I couldn't help fall in love with, or like a childhood friend I wish I could have had growing up.

Before any of the other Guild members could welcome me back home, Delvin interrupted, obviously impatient, "So what's this you need to tell us all?"

"Give the girl some time to breathe Delvin. You know the hell she's been through the past week," The red-head argued before I could speak.

"I think Brynjolf should be here too," I added.

"You'll get some alone time with lover boy later!" Vex scoffed, "I'm sure you can brief him on whatever it is you're going to tell us when you see him."

I shot her a glance before I turned back to the Guild members.

I took a deep breath, bringing out the journal from my bag. "You guys remember Karliah, right?"

And of course, like an orchestra, everyone let out a tuned groan. Some began swearing, others spitting on the ground at the sound of her name.

_Greeeaaat._

"Why would you bring her up _now_?" They asked.

"Before we all go crazy, I need to explain something to all of you."

"I'm sure we'd love to hear it," Dirge scoffed, leaning against a wardrobe.

"Okay… Well you know how you all think she murdered Gallus 8 years ago?"

"_THINK?! _We _KNOW_, thank you very much!" Vex shouted.

"Yeah, well… I have some news for you guys… She didn't kill Gallus."

"What in oblivion are you talking about?!" She exclaimed, "You're pushing your luck here, this isn't something to joke about!"

"I know, I know. That's why I have this," I said, showing them the book, "This is Gallus' journal. It has all the evidence you need that proves Karliah's innocence."

Vex grabbed the journal out of my hand, opening up the book as she read through it.

"If Karliah didn't kill Gallus, then who did?" Delvin asked, reading the book over Vex's shoulder.

"Mercer…" She gasped, looking up at me, "How…What… Why would he do that?!"

"Now hold on, how do we know we can trust this is Gallus' journal?" Argued Dirge, making his way to Vex. He snatched the book out of her hand, feeling the crescent on the cover. He turned it over to get a better look, with the image of some sort of bird.

"What is that?" He asked, mesmerised by it.

"It's the symbol of our secret society," Came a voice from behind me. Vex ripped the book out of Dirge's hands, as she and Delvin went back to reading it – unaware of the presence of the far too familiar voice.

"You just signed your death wish, you bitch!" Dirge spat, as we all watched Karliah slowly walk towards us, unsure whether or not it was a smart move. The Guild members all unsheathed heir swords, ready to attack her. I brought my hand up to them, slowly backing away as I stood in front of her, "That's the proof right there, you all now know it wasn't her!"

"Why would Mercer kill Gallus?! We get he's a traitor, but he wouldn't go that far!" He argued.

I turned to Vex and Delvin, who were still too occupied to notice what was going on.

"Delvin, Vex!? A little help here?!"

They both slowly looked up, unable to pry their eyes off the journal, "Mercer killed Gallus, he knew he would…" Vex said softly, the journal dropping out of her hands as she brought them up to her temple, "How could we not have seen this coming?!" She argued with herself, pacing back and forth.

"Karliah…!," He said, walking past the now-hostile members, which caught the attention of Vex. She was stunned, slowly watching the Dunmer in the doorway.

He brought his hands up to her shoulders, "I never could have guessed it," He forced a smile, "All these years… I convinced myself to believe you killed him… But I knew something wasn't right…" He continued, giving her a hug, "I'm so glad to see you back."

"As am I," She whispered, her deep eyes beginning to water.

Vex finally caught up with what was happening, "Karliah?!" She slowly walked up to her, still in shock. Karliah brought her hand up to Vex's shoulder, "Hello, Vex."

She was speechless for what seemed like hours. "I-… Welcome home," She finally said.

"Thanks, it's good to be home," She smiled back. She then brought Vex in for a hug, laughing softly into her ear, "I know you were never a hugger."

Vex was silent, wrapping her arms around her neck, "You have no idea how hard it's been here without you. Being the only woman in the Guild really got to me."

"I know, Vex," She whispered back, stroking her hair, "Not a day went by that I haven't missed being here. The days we would raid houses, chase after the skeevers in the Ratways…" She let out a low chuckle as she broke away from her, "I've missed you all so much."

Karliah then turned to me, "Thank you, Aela. I don't know what I would have done without you," She said, bringing her hand out to me, a pendant shining in her palm.

"What is this?" I asked as I took it out of her hand.

"It was your mother's. Your father gave it to me. He wanted you to have it should he have ever passed away."

I ran my fingers across the silver pendant, the diamond-shaped rubies shining in the little light the cistern provided. Whatever thoughts and memories I had left of my family began running through my mind. I missed them so much…

I looked up back up at her, tears beginning to form in my eyes, "Thank you."

She nodded, giving me a smile.

"I believe this is yours as well," Delvin interrupted, bringing up a small bag, "Your friend brought it back here with her, she said Mercer confiscated it before he… Well, you know."

I put the necklace away in my pocket, catching the bag in my hands as he tossed it to me.

I opened it up, the brown leather peaking through– my guild armour. I turned to the stranger, "Thanks, I was hoping I'd see this again."

"Anytime," She smiled.

"Have we met before?" I asked, unsure of where I had seen her.

"Let's just say I was a good friend of your parents," She chuckled, "I think you have a particular Nord you've been wanting to see again."

My heart skipped a beat remembering Brynjolf. "Well… I mean he can wait…" I could feel my cheeks begin to flush as I fiddled with the ties of the bag. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to look at Delvin, "Could I speak to you alone?" He asked.

_Oh no. _"What is it?"

"Not here, outside. But I think it's better if you change into those first, the hood will keep you hidden from the Dawnguard."

I agreed, hurriedly making my way into one of the rooms – the room Bryn and I would sleep in… I smiled to myself, remembering how we would fool around little nights we had alone, unable to keep my laughter as I changed into the armour.

I looked over myself in the new leather; no doubt the tight armour flattered my body nicely, which was a plus. I brought the hood up, calling out to Delvin that I was ready for whatever news he had.

He came into the room, raising his brows as he examined me from up to down, letting out a chuckle.

"Pervert…" I laughed, rolling my eyes. "What did you need to tell me?"

"Not here – outside," He answered, and without another word, he led me out of the room, past the cistern and up the ladder into Riften's graveyard.

He finally stopped as we made our way into the sunlight.

"So, you're a vampire, huh?" He said, his back turned to me.

"Yeah… about that…"

He brought his hand up to me as he turned to face me, "Before you go apologizing, I want you to know that I don't think any less of you. I understand that it would have been difficult for you to tell us. But you're gonna have to explain to the Guild sooner or later. They all already know – all of Riften knows, ever since the Dawnguard's little visit…"

"I think Mercer ratted me out to the bastards. I've been on his hit list ever since he fled the Guild."

"And we're going to catch him," He said, patting my shoulder, "And we're going to tear him apart," He winked.

"Thanks, Delvin. You've been a good friend to me," I smiled.

He nodded, returning my smile, "Now, I need to tell you something…" He trailed off.

"What is it? You're killing me here, Delvin."

"Aela, he's… He's dead."

"What? Who? _Mercer?_"

He shook his head, looking away from me, "No, Brynjolf. Mercer killed him..."

"Wh-What?" I said, breathless as I backed away from him.

"Yes, I'm sorry, I know how much you both cared for each other…"

"No!" I shouted as I fell to my knees, dropping my head into my hands, "That's impossible! This can't be true… I'm not going to believe it!"

He was silent as I began to weep, my tears streaming down my cheeks.

Then, I heard a low chuckle escape Delvin's lips.

"How is this in anyway _funny_?!" I screamed, tears beginning to streak down my cheeks as I looked up at him.

"THAT'S for keeping your secret 'bout being a vampire hidden from me! You should've seen your face!" He laughed, wiping away tears of laughter.

I got up to my feet, pushing him forward with all my might, "You _ASSHOLE!_"

He stumbled back, still crying from the laughter, "I needed my revenge after all!"

"You're unbelievable! Where in oblivion is he?!"

"Down by the lake," He said, catching his breath from the laughter. "He's been there everyday ever since he came back," He continued as he regained his balance from the push, "Hasn't been the same since you left."

I felt my heart drop as I wiped away the tears.

"You're going to pay when I get back, you hear me?" I said. I pushed him back on the ground, and without another word, I left the graveyard, sounds of Delvin's chuckles echoing from behind me.

I headed straight for the main doors, my hood shielding my identity as the Dawnguard continued to preach to the people about my presence. I slipped right past them, unnoticed, and pushed open the two doors. I was ready to finally see him again, to embrace again, and to be together again.

* * *

**I was going to add in her reunion with Brynjolf here, but I thought that would be too much for one chapter ;).**

**Thanks for reading!**


	25. Alone Time

**WARNING. The following contains extremely mushy and cheesy scenes, and some good old fashioned romance. **

**Teehee. Still rated T, no worries ;)**

* * *

I made my way to the lake outside of Riften, and sure enough, there was Brynjolf – sitting at the edge of the water, his knees hunched up, staring out into the lake.

My stomach began churning, my heartbeat quickening. What would I say? "Hey sorry I never told you about the whole vampire thing?" Maybe he'll understand, he'll _have _to understand…

_Just shut up and go! You've been waiting for this moment for weeks! _

I bit my lip and walked towards him, slowly pacing myself. I came up a few steps behind him, but he hadn't noticed.

_Now what?! Say something! _

"Hey."

_Idiot. _

His head shot up, turning to look at me. He was speechless, picking himself up off the ground as he faced me. "Lass…" His voice cracked as he brought the space between us closer, bringing his hands up to my waist, "You're alive…"

I wrapped my arms around his neck, resting my head on his chest, "I'm so sorry," I whispered to him.

He hugged me tighter, bringing my hood down as he rested his forehead on my shoulder, still silent.

"Say something," I said.

He turned his head towards my neck, brushing his lips across my bare skin, "How could you do this to me…"

"I didn't mean too, Bryn. I didn't know who to trust."

"You couldn't even trust me?" He asked, his breathing growing heavy.

"I'm sorry, I was going to tell you, I swear… But I didn't know how you'd react… First Dragonborn, then Vampire… I wanted to tell you, I wish I could have. But then Mercer came out of no where… And now the Dawnguard are here…" I said as my voice cracked, tears trailing down my cheeks.

I brought my hand down to his chest, gripping tight onto his armour, "Bryn, I'm scared."

He held me even tighter, "They aren't going to lay a finger on you," He said, bringing his forehead up, resting it on my temple, "If I have to protect you for every moment of my waking life," He paused, kissing the side of my forehead, "Then so be it."

I couldn't help but smile as he took his hand under my chin, brining my head up to his, our eyes locking for the first time in weeks.

"I've missed you," He whispered, "I never thought I would see you again, lass."

A small laugh escaped my lips, remembering his name for me.

"What's so funny?" He asked, returning my laugh.

"I just love it when you call me lass," I flirted, going up on my tiptoes as I wrapped my arms back around his neck, bringing him down for a kiss.

Again, my heart began to beat even quicker, my stomach churning as his lips moved across mine. He began to move me back as he broke away from me, "What are you doing?" I asked, laughing as he picked me up off the ground, walking forward.

He then put me down, my back leaning against a cold stone wall. I looked up to see us under a bridge, water rushing beneath our feet, "What is it with you and trapping me against walls?" I asked, smiling.

"So I can have all the control," He whispered into my ear, his hands making their way down my shoulders and my waist, resting his hands on my hips, "And now you're all mine," He said softly, kissing my neck, softly biting into my skin, "So you're a vampire, lass? That's quite the turn on," He chuckled, brushing his lips across the length of my neck.

I shuddered as he brought his lips up the length of my neck, his breath cool against my bare skin.

"Have you ever been tempted to bite me?" He asked playfully, his lips resting at the corner of my mouth.

"What do you think?" I said, my eyes closed as I dug my nails deep into his sides.

"I'd think yes," He laughed softly, bringing his hands up the length of my arms, piercing my wrists to the wall behind me, "You're too tempting, lass. You're my fix, and you've been absent for too long."

"You're so cheesy, Bryn," I sighed in content, bringing my lips to his, "I'm a wanted criminal, and they'll kill you if you keep me hidden," I said, biting his lip, "You should turn me in."

He let go of one of my wrists, bringing his hand up behind my head, entwining my hair between his fingers, "I think I'll pass on that, Delvin would miss you too much," He chuckled, bringing his lips to mine, giving me a light kiss.

"I have something for you," He said, again breaking away.

"It can wait," I sighed, bringing him back down to me by his neck.

"No lass, it's important," He chuckled, "I promised myself that if you came back, I would get it for you."

I raised my brow, "What is it?"

He brought my hood back up and gave me a kiss on my forehead, "Come," He said excitedly, holding my hand, "I'll show you."

* * *

"Now keep your eyes closed, you hear me, lass?" He said as he led me back into Riften, his hands covering my eyes.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, "I hate surprises."

"Patience, lass," He said, "Now keep your eyes closed," He continued, moving his hands away from my eyes. I heard him take a few steps behind me, "Open."

I opened my eyes, the sunlight blinding me for a moment before I could make out what was in front of me.

"You took me to my childhood home?" I asked as we stood in front of Honeyside.

I heard him chuckle from behind me as he came up next to me, wrapping his hand around my waist, "It's yours now."

I looked up at him, confused, "What?"

"I brought it from the elves that lived here when we had separated. It didn't feel right knowing that you had lost it."

My jaw dropped, speechless as I turned back to face the house, "Are you serious?"

He nodded, a smug smile spread across his face, "Well?"

"Oh my…" I said in disbelief. I turned back to face him, hopping on to him as I wrapped my legs around his waist, "Thank you!" I cried out between my tears, digging my face into his neck, "You have no idea how much this means to me... All my memories in this home... Thank you!"

I heard him chuckle as he brought his hands around my waist, "My pleasure, lass."

"I don't even know what to say… I can't believe it," I said as I regained my balance, "Thank you," I smiled, bringing my hand up to his cheek, "For everything."

"Enough with the thank you's," He laughed, "Come," He held my hand as he led me through the doors. I examined the rooms, they looked the same as when I last saw them, nothing out of place, nothing moved.

"What happened to the elves who lived here?" I asked as I walked through the house, dragging my fingers across the table and chairs.

"I gave them an offer they couldn't refuse, 10, 000 gold and a one way trip to Morrowind."

I laughed to myself as I remembered the couple who lived here before; the illiterate book hoarder and his wife who couldn't stand him.

"You're the best," I said, smiling as I turned to face him, "From now on, if you ever need anything, no matter what, I'm your girl."

"Oh really? Anything?" He winked.

"Don't push your luck."

He then scooped me up off the ground and brought me into the next room, dropping me down on the bed as he propped himself on top of me, smiling.

"I don't think so, Bryn!" I said as I manuvered myself from under him, bringing him down onto the bed as I took his place, now crouching on top of him, "Not so fun being on the bottom, huh?"

He brought his head up as high as he could, "I don't mind, lass," He whispered with a chuckle.

As I leaned down to kiss him, I heard a cough come from behind us.

"Ahem."

We turned to see Delvin standing a few feet away from us in the kitchen.

Brynjolf let out a groan, throwing his head down on the pillow, "What is it, Delvin?" He asked, staring at the ceiling.

"Rune overheard The Dawnguard talking. They're leaving Riften for a few hours to check out the farms outside of here, and then they're going to come pay a visit to the Guild."

He brought his head up, "What do they want with the Guild?"

"They know she's one of us, they're gonna come in asking for her, and I doubt they plan on leaving without a fight."

"Shit," I cursed under my breath as I sat next to Brynjolf on the bed, "What are we going to do?"

"We're thieves – we can make our way through anything," He reassured me as he got up off the bed, "If they come to us asking for you, we'll tell them you abandoned us and that we haven't seen you for weeks. How about that?"

Delvin thought hard before he spoke, "Has some flaws, but sounds good. I'll run it by the Guild, see if we can come up with anything else that might be useful. In the mean time…" He paused as he looked at us intently, "Why don't you two try to concentrate on the issue here. You'll get time to…" He shuddered at the thought, "Fool around later," He chuckled as he turned around, "Get your asses down to the cistern. We have to be ready."

I rolled my eyes, "Thanks, Delvin." I waited for him to leave before I turned to look at Brynjolf, "Off we go, then?"

He groaned, "Always have to ruin the moment…" He shook his head before he looked up at me, "Aye, let's get going, lass."

He got up off the bed and turned to me, holding out his hand.

"Aren't we chivalrous today?" I smiled, taking his hand as he led me out of the room.

"Shame you didn't get to see the whole house."

"It's alright, Bryn, we'll save it for another time," I assured him, "It'll be that much sweeter, too," I winked.

He chuckled, "Don't think I'm going to forget that, lass," He kissed my forehead as he brought my hood back up, "Try to stay hidden, aye? I don't want to lose you again."

I rolled my eyes, "No worries, I am a _thief_ after all – it's what we do best."


	26. AN

Hey, what's up?

I'm discontinuing this story (or at least going on a _looong _break) - sorry. I realized that writing this story causes my depression to increase rather than help. I'm not asking for attention or anything, just wanted to let you guys know.

Peace Out guys, thanks for reading :). I may come back later, but don't cross your fingers.

I decided to at least end the story on a high note...


	27. Author's Note

July 03/13: Good news; I plan on continuing Back to My Roots once I get back home to Canada from my trip. I just needed a while to get back on my feet and deal with my disorder. I also plan on doing some SERIOUS editing on most if not ALL of my chapters (Oh God - the spelling errors! THE HORROR!). So please excuse the crappy errors. Also expect to see an update in the coming month.

Sorry for the false update (yet again)... Hopefully I'll still have some old, dedicated readers as well as some new ones.

Thanks for reading,

- SwindleHeart


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